Vines and Roses
by TheMangoYeti
Summary: "Nao Araki" is a "male" honors student at Ouran Highschool. How will "he" get by through 3 years of high school by hiding "his" secret? (mild swearing)
1. Chapter 1: (revised) Vines and Roses

Thanks for reading, I fixed an error that was going on, so if that happens again, please go and read it on my wattpad page JustDaBook 

It all started in a small town in Japan called Kamikatsu. Small town, as in 2,000 people. My family and I live on a farm that grows wheat and rice, and we have an averagely normal life.

Technically, had*. My twin brother, Nao, was to be head of the family, so he was expected to be a strong, steady base, smart enough to run the family farm to support the next generation.

At school, we were known as the Araki twins, and each known for a particularly strong set of skills, and us both together would be unbeatable. My brother was known for t being excellent at sports, film and photography, and languages (he could speak and write in 7 while I can only speak and write in 3-Japanese, English and Spanish). He wasn't particularly extremely smart in subjects at school, pulling a B average, but he wasn't dumb. He was the captain of the boy's swim team, and did a damn good job at it too.

I, on the other hand, sucked at most sports. I trip on the ball while kicking at it, the ball hits my face, or I somehow score on my own side and earn the other team a point. But, I excelled at swim team, with being captain(ette?) of the girl's team. I swam fast, and kicked butts too. I excelled at school work pulling A's and A+'s, and I'm a hugeeeee book nerd, reading almost a book per day. I also liked singing, and programming, occasionally hacking for money (gotta get money for books and manga from somewhere).

Everything was perfect until 3 year of middle school, when we could apply for other schools for high school. I had high schools lining up to accept me, the closest being the local high school in our town, but I was shooting higher up. Of course, I had to be a Baka ( T) and tell this to my family at dinner (Mom, Dad, brother).

"Sooooo..." I began, hearing the scraping of forks against the plates cease and all eyes turned towards me. My family decided to eat in silence, mainly because my father is a raging asshole who likes to gamble, money AND saying provocative to see what reactions he gets, hoping it will end in his favor (usually doesn't end up in his favor, like I said, raging asshole)

"Yes?" My mother asks, looking at me with watery, blue eyes. I loved my mother to death, but she's become fragile over the years, dealing with my father getting rid of some of her personal possessions, and his verbal a use to obtain them. She's sick of it, I can tell, but she's not strong enough to stick up for herself.

"At school, I looked at the scholarship list, and I saw a school that sounds interesting..." I begin, looking at my plate full of noodles (AN- idk what else to say for food lol).

"Was it Iwatobi high school? Cousin Makato goes there... Maybe he can put in a good word for the administrator to put a slot in for you... You could also join the swim team too, but than again it's all male..." My mother begins to rant. My mother was always looking for an opportunity to get me away from home, but I don't know why though...

"No, even though that's a great high school, there's somewhere else I'd like to go..." I begin, "Well, spit it out already!" My father say sternly, glancing from side to side.

"I'd like to apply for Ouran High School!" I blurt out, causing the room to go silent.

A few moments pass, and than my father says "no."

Looking back at this, if not for him, I may not have had made it to high school without his 'motivation".

"Why not?! I believe I'm smart enough to attend on scholarship. I can study a bit and earn a 100%, landing me a complete spot since the test is har-"

"Because you aren't attending high school at all!" He blurts out, standing up with his fists clenched and face red.

A deathly silence follows, and my brother looks shocked, and my mother is looking away from the table.

"What.. do you mean I'm not attending high school?" I question, rising slowly from the table. "I want to pursue my career of being a successful Doctor, and future doctors need to attend high school to get into college."

"I-I was stupid and young..." My father's voice lowers, looking away from the table. "It was 9 years ago, when you were 4. I gambled away everything except this house, and our family was starving..."

"You promised you wouldn't tell her until she graduates middle school..." My mother begins, only to be shushed by my father.

"The only way to obtain food and money was to, uh, promise your marriage to another man."

"Ok than, so why can't I do that after college?" I inquire, I mean after all I plan on attending a college in America, and I can make myself a new identity using my computer skills.

"The man is turning 18 this year, and is now old enough to inherit his family business, only if he has a wife." My dad explains, with a 'duh' look on his face

"Why can't he just wait?!" I ask, getting nervous.

"His father was the godfather of a nearby mafia, and was just killed." My dad blurts out, before sitting quickly (no, it's not the mafia boy in the Ouran episodes.)

"WHAT?! YOU ARE MARRYING ME OFF TO A GODFATHER?! I DONT WANT TO BE A MAMA (mafia's lead woman)." I blurt out angrily, I mean who wouldn't be pissed.

"Screw this guys, I'm going to Ki-chan's" I say, leaving the table of a shocked brother, asshole father and a silent mother.

I grab my bag by the doorway with my flip phone (Note- in this fanfic I will have it so its modern day, where the host club owns iPhones and samsungs as they can afford the newest models) and slip on my shows and exit the house. I grab my rusted bike from the porch and begin the 7 mile journey to Ki's house in the neighboring town.

Maaya Ki, the daughter of the the mayor in the neighboring town, has been my friend since grade school since the only grade school in the area was at the border. Though we attend different schools, we still stay in contact. She has a car which her brother drives (he is friends with my brother so they hang out) and I bike to her house.

Maaya is one of the most beautiful people I know. Cheekbones are perfect, long, dark lashes, curly hair, dark chocolate skin, and eyes the deepest color of black, hey carry the soulful look in them that she knows something you don't. She and her brother were adopted from somewhere outside of Japan, but I honestly don't care about her past, but the future. I've asked her about it before, but she kinda blew me off so I figured she doesn't like talking about it.

I explained to her the situation, and she agreed that my father was a raging asshole.

After an hour of us hanging out, around 8' o clock, my fate changed when the door opened and in came my brother. "Onii-sama, what are you doing here?" I ask, hearing him breathing heavily. "I got in, I'm going to Hollywood."

"What?!" I ask, my older brother never mentioned any of this before. "I'm going to work as a translator in Hollywood, casually assisting in film once grade school is over. I will be attending a film school in Hollywood on scholarship too, and they will pay all costs. The only thing is I will be using an American name instead of my Japanese one, so mom and dad can't contact me, for all they know I will be attending a school in Sapparo." 

"Wait... say that again," Maaya says, with a serious look on her face. 

"I will have an American name, so mom and dad can't contact me, for all they know I will be attending a school in Tokyo...?" repeated Nao, with a look of confusion on his face. 

"What if, you both switch places...?" asks Maaya, and my brother suddenly shakes his head. "No way! I worked my butt off to go to Holly-" 

"I see what you are getting at, so my brother goes to Hollywood under is American name, while I attend a school as a boy under my brother's name?" I ask, smirk growing on my face. 

"Basically," Maaya says, "you guys could look alike if you were the same gender, except Nao is a bit taller and has more masculine features." "Than, let's get this show on the road! This is a top secret plan, so no one can find out, got it?" Nao says, and I nod.

I made my mind up on Ouran, and told them that school was the one I wanted to attend. We set the plan in motion. I was to do training for the next year, until high school started.

My brother was to teach me how to act like a guy and Maaya would help me remove my feminine side. Maaya had always wanted to be an actress, so she would help me 'get into character' so I can easily 'act out' the parts of a guy. She also was skilled at doing makeup, and showed me how to contour my face to look more masculine and like my brother's.

Each day, after school, I would run to Maaya's house to build up muscle to look more masculine and muscular, run back to my house, do work on the farm's field, study, than from about 12-3 in the morning I would do computer jobs for people across the world, by hacking, looking up private information, or other deeds to earn cash. Six months of doing this, it was time for the scholarship test.

My brother and I arrived early to sit next to each other in the back. I wrote his name on my paper, and he wrote my name on his paper. I completed the test 5 minutes before it ended, and my brother failed to complete the test, so he handed it in 3/4 full. Purposely, like we planned. I was prepared to pull up tears on the way home, saying I couldn't handle the test, saying it was too hard.

My sperm donor and birth giver took the bait, comforting me, telling me my future husband would take care of all my needs. Gag.

The results came in, and before showing it to my parents, my brother made a copy of the one that said that I didn't make it, and I photoshopped his name onto it. We showed it to our parents, and our parents said it was understandable, on how wealthy Ouran is. The letter for the test I took under Nao's name was opened the next day at Maaya's house, and I got the scholarship! The letter said that another student in another town got the scholarship too, as she was a few points lower than me but still had an exceptional score of 96. I got a 99 (I would've gotten a 100 but one of the questions was about American politics, but who honestly cares about that :/)

Than, the fated day came, where 'Nao Araki' would go to Ouran High School in Tokyo. My brother was to leave a couple days later, so we decided to speed up the plans.

The night before I left for Ouran, I would go to sleepover at Maaya's house, and she would cut my hair in the style of my brother's, would drive me to the airport where I had applied for a passport 9 months ago. I would take a 1 way ticket to Tokyo. I used my female name, and would go to the airport makeup-less. Once I arrive to Tokyo, after a while I would apply for a passport under my male name, or my brother's name.

Maaya would tell my parents that I never arrived at her house, and I planted a fake ransom note that asked for 10 million yen, which my parents could never afford. It also said to have it in a week, which is impossible as I did research on the mafia my parents wanted to cart me off too. The 'Vines and Roses Mafia' (How cheesy of a name is that? Sounds like a weird fanfic) was easily identifiable, as they had a ring around their arm with vines and a singular rose on it. Their worth as a mafia is pretty small compared to some mafias, only 4 million yen.

I had already payed a year's rent for a small, 1 room apartment 10 blocks from OHS, and I shipped 3 bags to that address, where a family friend of Maaya would put the bags into the apartment. I had about 312,427.50 yen (3,000 American Dollars,2286.57 British Pounds, 3,947 Australian Dollars, 3,888 Canadian Dollars) for buying groceries and other necessities. Maaya's brother and my brother had a ton of old clothes that no longer fit them, and gladly gave them to me. Maaya also purchased me a few things to hide my chest, which was the biggest problem. I have a 36C, so the pain I have to endure everyday will suck, but it's definitely better than marrying young. ACE bandages are the base, with a binder on top of that, and sports bra is layered on top. All with a black tank top (manly, not a camisole) is put on top. This way, if any person sees me in a tank top, they won't see the heavy bulge as bad with white and gray. I do have neutral colors, but I am not wearing the Ouran uniform as it it too expensive for me.

On the plane ride to Tokyo, which was 8 hours, I completely scrubbed my existence off the internet as Nao's sister, and implanted fake information that I went over with my friend and brother.

I am Nao Araki, 15 year old scholarship student in class 1-A. I want to become a successful doctor one day, and will try my best in school. I have physical conditions, not allowing me to do excessive amounts of exercise, and I have a doctor's note approving me skipping gym, which the headmaster approved in a school email. I am an only child, as I had a twin sister named Kako, who died during childbirth.

Watch out Ouran High School, there's a new student coming, and they will pursue their goals successfully, and nothing will get in the way.

And this boy has got something up his sleeve, and down his bra. Kako is my past, and Nao is my future.


	2. Chapter 2: Vines and Roses

My name is Nao, and today is my first day attending Ouran High School. I've been planning this day for months, to finally stride towards my career, to finally obtain a challenging education.

I rub my blurry eyes, spooning cereal into my mouth. I have enough money to only pay for the bills I'll be paying for this apartment, so I'll have to get a job soon. I can always do hacking, programming, and computer jobs, but I don't know if I'll have enough time to do this if I have challenging school work that will require my attention.

Putting my bowl in the dishwasher, I go to my small room. It had room for a twin bed, a small closet, and a dresser. I could take a step in between everything listed, so I hopped around my room like a spider monkey. I put on a pair of black slacks, thanks to Maaya's brother, and started the painful journey of wrapping my chest. First, i put on the ACE bandages, than layered a sports bra on top of that, before putting a tight white, generic, undershirt over it. Than, I put on a big, lumpy sweater in an unflattering gray color. I brush my hair, which is a bit above my shoulder.

The accuracy of my hair length was a tad off, with my hair being slightly longer than my brother's, so I put it in a low ponytail. I looked into the mirror, staring at my feminine-ish features. I pulled out my makeup kit, and thanks to what seems to a million years of practice, my makeup appeared to harden my jaw, eyes, define my nose and make me look like a carbon copy of my brother. My eyebrows have grown thicker, which looked nice on me, so I mussed them up a bit and looked in the mirror.

I almost forgot!

I bring out my contour brush and locate my Adam's apple. Both genders have them, but men have more prominent ones. If I can emphasize mine, I'll look more like a man. Even if it just seems to bulge slightly.

Looking in the mirror, I notice a slight bulge there now.

Yup, Nao, right there. I put in my contacts, putting my thick, bulky glasses in my bag.

I pull out the letter again from Ouran and placed it in my messenger bag, and looked at the test they sent back with it, with a 99% scored at the top. I smiled, looking at it, this piece of paper was my golden ticket to freedom. I looked at the interests section, and see the words "computing, reading, swimming".

Wait.

Swimming?

Oh god no, this can't happen, I'll be found out... Why would I write that?'

Okay, I'll figure this out as I go on. If the need for action comes up, I'll do something about it.

I check the clock on my dresser, reading 6:45. School starts at 8, and walking to school is about 30 minutes. If I leave now, I can make it to the head office and get my schedule.

I grab my keys to my house and flip phone, which is also from Maaya, and go out the house door and set off to Ouran.

=time skip brought to you by one hell of a butler=

I arrive at Ouran, and walk in. The light pink castle of a school was really pretty, and even though I don't like the color pink that much, the building was awe-inspiring. It seemed that no one was on campus, but that was fine with me. I walk in and take a left to where the sign "office" hung. A secretary with glasses perched on her nose, black, greasy hair pulled into a tight bun. Her glasses were very expensive, Ray Bans, and were the newest season's line. She obviously gets payed more than the average secretary. I want those glasses SOOOO bad, they are for females though...

I inhale lightly, making sure to deepen my voice to one of an average 15 year old. "Excuse me Miss," I begin, oh god, I made it a tad to deep, I guess I have to keep it like this. I start walking towards her desk. She looks up at me, a light blush scattering her cheeks. "C-can I help you?" She asks, and I nod with a light smile. "Can you please give me my schedule for classes? I'm Araki Nao." (A/N- for future reference, I think that Japanese people list their last name first, as that is what they're usually called.)

"Oh! O-of course!" she stutters, blushing a bit more before typing furiously on her computer, and I nod. She starts printing my schedule, and hands it to me

"Arigato!" I begin, walking away, before stopping. My brother always had girls fawning over his looks, and I want to see if it works for me too. "By the way..." I begin, turning around.

"Y-yes?" She stutters out, and I give a light smile. "You're glasses are really cute on you!" I say, and her face turned red. "T-thanks!" She says, and I wave before walking out.

Oh god, I might get found out as a female if I get attention. I rush to the nearest male bathroom and pull my contacts out of my eyes, putting them in their case and pulling out my glasses, putting them on. I take my hair out of my ponytail, mussing it up a bit, and putting it back into a ponytail. I look like a garbage bag, which will work in my favor. I look at the (random?) clock in the bathroom, and see its 7:40.

I walk out of the restroom and head to the headmaster's office.

I knock, and I hear the word "enter"

Inside, I see the blonde headmaster.

"Hello Mr. Suoh, I'm Araki Nao, pleased to meet you." He smiles and nods. "Please, take a seat," he says, pointing towards a chair. I sit down and he looks at me again.

"Since you are here on an academic scholarship, you will be in room 1-A and you must be ranking top 5 or above in your class, which doesn't seem to be a problem based off of your test grade."

I nod, and he continued, "Also, I noticed that you said your interests on the test were computing, reading and swimming?"

Oh god.

I nod, "yes sir."

"And I looked online at your times, and they were amazing!"

I erased all evidence of female-me online, but not my brother, as I took his identity. So all his swim times, grades (which I swapped with mine, so he looked like a better student than me) and all his awards.

"Thank you sir." I bowed my head in thanks, wanting to get out of there asap.

"And, our Ouran Swim team is looking for new recruits, and based off your swim times I'd like to ask you to join."

Oh HELL no.

If it was any other sport, I would've been fine. But I can't go shirtless at a male swim event, I'll be exploited for a female.

"Thank you for your offer, but Ouran seems like such a hard school, and I plan on staying atop my studies and I'd like to focus on my homework."

"Now, Araki, if you swim for Ouran, I'll exempt you from any class you wish. I'd like you to consider my offer. Season starts next week for males."

I sweat dropped, but nodded anyway. "I'll consider your offer Mr Suoh, thank you."

"You can leave for classes now, have a good first day!" He says with a smile, and I nod and leave the office.

How can I avoid his offer? I mean I can't say I have a rare disease, because I didn't write that on the test...

I arrive to the first year building, and find class 1-A. There's only one other person in the room, with a maroon sweater, messy short hair and black slacks. I walk over to them and look at the desk next to them.

"Can I sit here?" I ask, and they look up at me. Behind their glasses, I can see they have large, doe eyes. This can be either an extremely cute boy, or a short haired, breast lacking female. I look at their neck.

No prominent Adam's apple, definitely a girl.

"Yeah, sure," she says with a nod. Maybe their gender will be confused, their voice is pretty neutral toned. I sit down next to her

"I'm Araki Nao, pleased to make your acquaintance." I said, sticking my hand out with a smile. "Fujioka Haruhi, same." She says, reaching her hand out to shape mine.

"Are you also the other honor's student?" I ask, setting my messenger bag next to my desk. "Yeah, I got a 99 on my test, and it was close to your score so they let me in anyway. I would've got a point back if I-"

"actually cared about American Politics" we say at the same time, before laughing.

"I also got the problem wrong about why the woman would murder her husband, did you get that right?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Based off context clues, it seemed she had previous husbands who mysteriously divorced her or died, so I said she was hoping to get money from the will." I said, and Fujioka nodded.

"I said she thought her husband was cheating on her, but I guess your answer makes more sense..." She says, trailing off.

"Don't worry about it, we're here anyway," I say with a small laugh, and she smiles and laughs. "Yeah, I'm glad I got in."

I looked at the clock, it read 7:45.

"Do you want to be study buddies throughout the year? Us honor students gotta stick together," I say, looking at her. She seems like if she figured out my secret, she could care less and wouldn't tell. She might be my only friend that I can trust, and the only girl who might not be insane, rich, or both. That way, we can hang out within our price range.

"Yeah, that sounds good, call me Haruhi if we are going to be study buddies," she says with a smile.

"Ditto, call me Nao," I reply.

Just than, about 16 people rushed into the class, along with the professor. We talked until 8' o clock about our favorite books, when the bell rung.

"All right class, welcome to yo-"

Just than, 2 red heads burst into the classroom, seemingly out of breath.

"Sorry we were late sensei, but-" the one on the right begins,

"-our limo got stuck in traffic." the other on the left finishes. Haruhi and I looked towards each other and sweat dropped.

Damn rich people.

They saunter over to the two desks behind us, and scooched them together so they were closer. The teacher just rolled her eyes and continued speaking.

We started our classes, all being moderate in difficulty. We did our pre test for Geometry, which I had already learned and finished in 10 minutes.

I went to the front of the classroom and deposited my test, and the teacher raised his eyebrow.

"Are you really sure you're done?" He asked. I nod, and he just shrugs, handing me a pamphlet.

"If you want, look over these. These are the clubs and sports offered, feel free to join or observe any. Some of them are pretty exclusive though, so it may be hard to join." He continued, and I nod again, leaving for my desk.

I am not planning on doing extracurricular activities if my identity is to remain secret.

The rest of the day passed by pretty fast, and before I knew it, the end of the school day had arrived.

"Nao, want to study and do homework in the library today?" Haruhi asked as we were packing up our belongings. I nodded, and grabbed my messenger bag.

As we were walking towards the door, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around and saw our teacher.

"Mr Araki, based off your geometry pre-test scores, it seemed you have already learned all the concepts?" I nodded, and he continued, "Based off of this information, I'd like you to start doing Advanced Algebra with grade 2, as to challenge you with new concepts. Class will be at the same time, so it won't be inconvenient." I nod, because I can honestly care less. I've learned the basics of algebra, and it seems easy enough.

"Great! Can you stay after class, so I can teach you the basics that they learned today?" The sensei asked, and I looked at Haruhi and she nods. "Sure," I say, turning back to the teacher. Haruhi turns to leave, but I remember that...

"Oh, and Haruhi, here's my number," I say, giving her a piece of paper that had my number scrawled onto it. "Text me later!" I say, and she nods before walking off.

Over the next hour, I had the basics they learned today drilled into my head, before I was allowed to leave the class. It was super boring.

The school doesn't close for 3 more hours, and the wifi here is really fast, so I decided to head to one of the libraries to start doing some computer work for money, but it was really crowded and noisy. I decide to check the other libraries, but they were the same. I sigh, and walk down an unfamiliar hallway.

I look at a door that read 'Music Room 4', and decide to enter.

Inside is a small classroom, enough to fit a puffy, over sized couch and a bunch of costumes.

I turn on the lights, and make my way over to the couch and sit down. It felt like a cloud! I snuggled down and pulled out my computer and started working on requests that were emailed to me.

I pulled up an email from a customer under a blocked email address. The guy always emailed me requests, and would pay me about 5,000 yen per request, which is a good amount of money. He only seemed to request personal information off of people, usually high schoolers, but when he requested something I have to always do it within ten minutes. He has about 5 requests a day, and it's pretty easy to dig up the information. How do I know it's the same guy? He goes by glasses, and he uses male-self pronouns when he writes the emails towards me.

He sent me a list of 100 names, which is a lot more than he usually sends me. I quickly reply to him that since there are so many names he wants me to do research on, it will take from 40-80 minutes to get accurate data off all of them, to which he responds almost immediately to send them in groups of ten when I get the information.

I roll my eyes, men can be so demanding.

I look at the top of the list, and see my name.

Araki, Nao.

What would he want to know about me?

I scroll through the list and see Haruhi's name. I notice that the list goes in alphabetical order, so I sigh in relief. At least he isn't singling me out.

Maybe he wants a list of all the incoming first years?

I roll my shoulders and start typing into the database, and pull up information starting at Z and going up. It took me about 15 minutes per 10 people, since most of the information is in the same area, but it still is annoying work. Meaning 40 people in an hour, 80 in 2 hours and 100 in an hour and a half.

I quickly email him the list I already completed, informing him that it will take longer than I predicted to get all the names, and if he had specific people I should do first.

I continued to work on the S section of names, when he replied.

He sent me a shorter list of names that he wanted me to see first, about 10 people.

There was Haruhi, 2 people under the name Hitachiin, and some female sounding names.

Since I'm Haruhi's friend, I sent him only her basic information that the school provides, and a link to her excellent grades. I don't send him the creepy stuff, like bust size.

I did the other female sounding names, and started on the Hitachiins.

As I went into the database, I saw the 2 kids who were late this morning! Some kids named Hikaru and Kaoru, and they seemed devilish.

You can never trust gingers in an anime... always the devilish or psycho type.

Damn, I am good.

I worked on more people, and achieve almost 80 people when I hear footsteps coming near the door to the room. I panic, closing down my computer and pulling out a book.

The door opens, and I see a tall, blonde guy walking into the room with hands on his hips. Yet to notice me (senpai JK) he shouts out "I'll get the spare costume part, wait a moment!"

He turns around, and I take a look at his face and see weird purple/blue eyes.

"Um... hi," I say, making sure my voice is deep. "I thought this room isn't in use, gomen. I'll be going now," I say, bowing my head quickly before grabbing my stuff and heading towards the door.

"Wait! What are you doing in here?" I hear him ask, and I roll my eyes.

"Yo mama!" I say, without breaking step, heading out the door. Why was I born such a sarcastic bitch, who knows what type of rich person he is? He can be a mafia leader, or royalty from France or something.

"Nao!" I hear, and I turn around and see Haruhi in an Ouran uniform, with a fresh hair cut and glasses missing. She has large doe eyes, framed with long lashes.

"Hey Haruhi, you're looking pretty snazzy," I say, "what's the occasion?"

"I broke an 8 million yen vase and I have to pay back the club that had the vase with service." She says with an eye roll

"That sucks, let me guess, maid duties? No, they would've given you a female uniform. Why would they even give you a male uniform in the first place anyway?" I say, walking side-by-side with her.

"Thought I was a guy, because I don't have boobs and I have short hair." She said, and I laughed lightly. That's the exact situation I am in now, except I have longer hair because my brother wanted to look like a hobo.

And I want to be a boy here.

"Don't worry, I've been mistaken as a girl before because I have long-ish hair." I say, patting her on the back lightly.

Lies.

"How was the Advanced Algebra crash course in basics?" She asked and I stopped and sighed dramatically.

"Such a bore! My god! We all know what slope is from basic algebra is already!" I reply dramatically, "Woe is me!" She laughed, and looked at her new watch.

"It's 6 o' clock, wanna head to a McD's and get some food? I'll text my dad I'll pick him up something."

I nod, and we leave campus.

We arrived at McD's and ate burgers, fries, and drank vanilla milkshake. Pretty mundane stuff, though the lady at the counter kept blushing as Haruhi placed her order.

"Working as a host club member among rich people is weird," Haruhi states, sighing lightly.

"How...?" I asked, chewing a fry.

"They've acted like they never have seen ground coffee, and treated it like poisin until Tamaki drank it, and than they applauded."

I laughed, with a small snort in my laugh, which made Haruhi start laughing.

We finished our meal, talked for a bit and left McD's, with her dad's hamburger in a bag.

"It's starting to get dark, want me to walk you home?" I asked Haruhi, who checked her watch.

"It's 7, and we'll get to my house around 7:30, is that OK with you?" She asks, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I don't live far from the school anyway, and I've been in this neighborhood before." 

"Weird question," she begins, scratching the back of her neck, "when and how did you know I was a girl?"

I shrug, "It was kind of obvious from the beginning. Your facial shape, the lack of a prominent Adam's apple, and your good nature that doesn't seemed forced."

"Thanks," she says, and we continued walking in silence.

We arrived at an apartment block, and she turns around. "This is my place, see you tomorrow." I nod, and wave as she turns around and walks up the stairs.

I walk away, and take about a 40 minute walk back to my apartment. I wash the makeup off of my face and neck, and check my flip phone.

I go to my bed and finish the list for glasses, letting him know my computer died suddenly and I was in a place where I couldn't charge it, and gave him the price for doing the list.

531,260.00 yen! It's not that much money, for the fact if I have to continuously pay for bills, grocery money, and a warranty on my precious computer, including software to cover any traces of hacking that can be led back to my computer.

I need ME money, so I can work a job so my computer job money can be used for things I like doing, or field trips I might go on.

I did my homework for school, and surfed the web for jobs I can do, where it's flexible for my work schedule.

I saw one at a popular bar, called looking for a singer to do live performances. I'd work 4-12, and get 1,600 yen per hour. I would have to work a minimum of 2 nights per week, and I'd also receive tips.

I emailed the bar, asking for an interview, and I closed my computer. I can't exactly sing as a man, so I'd have to do that as a female...

I pulled out my phone and texted Maaya to send me some dresses, shoes in my size, a realistic wig, and makeup PRONTO. Maaya responded within five minutes that she'll ship out the items tomorrow morning since she was at the mall. Bless that girl for being the mayor's daughter.

I texted my brother, telling him about school, before asking him how his day was. I turned off my phone and went to the computer, and hacked a website to allow me to get free K-POP tickets for Maaya and her brother.I printed them out and put them in an envelope.

I am like a super hero-but more dorky.

Checking the clock, it was 11, and I decided to go to bed.

=time skip to when Nao wakes up=

Following the same routine as the morning before, I eat breakfast, shower, apply makeup and head to school. This time, I left at 7:10 so I arrived around 7:40. Haruhi had already arrived before me, and she was wearing an Ouran uniform.

The teacher arrived 10 minutes later, and told me after lunch to go to the second year building for Adv. Algebra class.

Class started normally like yesterday, except we were doing more textbook work. Haruhi got the occasional glances from girls with lovey-dovey looks in their eyes, but that's because they think Haruhi's a cute boy.

Or, they think it's a cute girl in a boy's uniform, but it's most likely the first option.

Lunch came, and Haruhi and I ate in the classroom, and 2 minutes before lunch ended I left for the 2 year building.

It was a tiny bit bigger than our building, which is to be expected, but the top floors hosted most of the offices for clubs or sports managers, while the actual clubs were hosted on the main campus for everyone.

Either way, this school is huge.

Advanced Algebra class is in room 2-A, and I found it easily.

Everyone had 5 minutes to get back from the cafeteria, so I was one of the first people back. I sat near a window in a chair without a bag next to it in the 4th row, and pulled out a book called "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut (A/N- I read it for a college course class for highschool, and it's one of the most complicated books I've read for a while. If you want to try, go ahead, but it will change your aspect on life)

Soon, the class filed in, and no one seemed to notice me. I seemed to be like a shadow, I'm there but no one pays attention.

"Mr. Araki," I hear a voice say, and I look up from my book. Everyone's eyes are on me.

"Please introduce yourself to us," says the female math teacher, and I sigh and stand up.

"I'm Nao Araki, and I am here during this period to do math class. I am a first year, and, uh, that's pretty much it," I say, shrugging.

"Can you and Miss Sukimono trade spots for class, Mr. Araki?" I hear the teacher say, and I nod and grab my messenger bag.

I see a short girl, around 4'11'', with fake blonde extensions and hot pink velociraptor claws stand up, with one hand clenched into a fist. Her yellow cupcake uniform that all girls wear fits her well, but I can see that her bra has sticky boobs (you know, insertable jelly boobs to make boobs seem bigger?), and she is wearing spanx.

I smile and nod at her, and she just scoffs and struts over to my seat. I shrug, and walk over to where she was sitting before and sit down. I was only 2 rows over from where I was sitting before, so I could still see her. I look back at my desk, and see that one of her fake nails fell off.

I reach for my messenger bag, and pull out a notebook, a pencil, and a tissue.

I wrap the fake nail in a tissue, and lightly tear a piece of paper out of my notebook.

I write a quick note, and put the fake nail in the tissue along with the note and wrapped it up. I put it on the corner of my desk, and start taking notes for the class, which is pretty easy so far.

I turn to my right with the bundled tissue in hand, and I see the guy from the other day next to me.

"Hey, blondie," I whisper, and he turns towards me.

"It's you, from the costume room!" He says, loudly whispering, getting looks from around us, which I put my finger against my mouth.

"Please pass this to Sukimono," I say, handing him the bundle of tissue.

"WHaT is ThiS?!" I hear the teacher say, snatching the bundle from his hand.

"Note passing on first day?" I hear the teacher say, shock etched onto her face.

"No ma'm," I say, looking into her eyes, "I got the note from someone in the classroom, with a tap on the shoulder telling me to pass it to Sukimono, I figured it was something important if it was used to disturb our class." 

"Damn straight," I hear the teacher whisper under her breath, as she unravels the tissue and the nail falls out and onto the floor.

"Your fake nail fell off, so here it is if you want to use it. If they always fall off like this, I recommend using Nailner nail glue to keep it on for a longer period of time." The teacher reads, and picks the fake nail off the floor, before giving it to Sukimono.

"I believe this is yours, and to avoid this happening again you may want to listen to the recommendation," the teacher states sharply, before turning back to the whiteboard.

Everyone in the class starts laughing, as Sukimono's face turns bright red.

The teacher turned her rageful face back towards us, and we all stop laughing. I hear the quick scribbling of a pen, and turn around to see a boy with black hair and glasses writing in a black notebook.

Turning back towards the whiteboard, I continue to take notes until the class is over. The homework is passed out, and I put it into my binder inside my messenger bag, and I stand up to leave.

"Hey you," I hear a voice say, and I turn to see the blonde. "Yes?" I ask, "I have to get to my class."  
"Why were you in the costume room? Yo mama doesn't make any sense, if my mother was in the costume room I would know..."

I let out a short laugh, "Yo mama is a slang, don't worry about it. It won't happen again, so anymore chance encounters in a costume room won't happen," I say. I didn't feel like answering is question.

I turned around and walked out of the classroom without another word, I felt pretty cool too. Like Queen Bey, but as a guy.

I went back to class 1-A, and the rest of the classes were pretty uneventful.

"I have to go to my club activity now, want to walk with me there? It's close to the exit and library too," Haruhi asks, "Sure, why not," I reply.

We walk toward the area I was in the other day, and she stopped infront of a door.

"First years get out first by 5 minutes since classes start earlier for us, and the club doesn't start for 30 minutes, so you can come in if you want for a few minutes for something to eat or drink."

"Sure, I can start working on homework," I say, and I opened the door.

Inside was a light pink room, with huge arched windows and light pink pillars. The floor was a light yellow shade, the same as the girl uniform, and there was tables and chairs that probably cost more than my entire apartment.

"The kitchenette is over here," Haruhi points to a small corner, where there's an oven, a refrigerator, a stove, and some cabinets. I open up a cabinet and get a metal tea pot, and put water in it and I start to boil the water. I pull out some plain tea cups and Haruhi and I wait for the water to boil.

"You want some cake?" She asks, and I shook my head no. "I brought a box of Cheese-Its, want some?" She nods, and I get some bowls and shake them in there.

The water boils, and I soak the tea leaves in the cup. We sit down at a table in the corner, and I sip the tea and start eating the Cheese-Its.

"You know, for expensive tea it doesn't taste that good," I say, and Haruhi nods in agreement.

I pull out my math homework, while Haruhi pulls out a science textbook, and we both work on our own activities. About five minutes later...

"Is this," I hear a voice say,

"Haruhi's," A slightly higher voice continues,

"gay boyfriend?" they finish in chorus. My eyebrow twitches and I turn around to see the twins from my class, the Hitachiins.

"You guys have a gay love act, so I wouldn't be talking," Haruhi snaps, she doesn't seem like the person who gets agitated easily.

"Haruhi burning people faster than the Salem Witch Trials," I whisper under my breath, taking a sip of the overpriced tea.

"Who is this?" The twin on the right begins, "It's that guy who sits in front of us with Haruhi." The other replies.

"I'm Kaoru," the one on the right begins, "and I'm Hikaru," the one on the left finishes.

"You're horrible liars, it's the other way around," I say, rolling my eyes. When I was younger, around 5 or so, I had a pixie hair cut, kinda like my brother, and our voices were high enough where we would mess with our friends and say one is the other.

"..."

"What is that person doing here?!" I hear a voice say, oh god not him again. I sweatdropped, and saw that blonde loud mouth with the guy who sat behind me in math class.

"I'm friends with Haruhi... have we met?" I say, tilting my head to the side, playing dumb. His jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered.

"I am Tamaki Suoh, the President of the Host Club! The Prince of Host Club! Wooer of all!" He says gallavantly, throwing his arm to the air dramatically as rose petals rained down on him.

"Uh, who? And where did the rose petals come from?" I ask, looking towards the ceiling in case there was a secret hatch I missed or something...

His jaw dropped again, and he went to a corner, pale as the white screen I'm typing this on.

"Don't mind him," glasses says, "I'm Kyoya Ootori." I heard of him before, he's the 3rd son of a major business owner.

"Nice to meet you, you sit behind me in math, right?" I ask, and he nods.

"What are those?" The twins ask, pointing at the bowl of Cheese-Its in my hand. "A snack," I say, smacking their hands away as they try to reach for it.

"Why do you use the plain, white teacups and bowls," Hikaru begins,

"...when we have fancy ones?" Kaoru finishes.

I shrug, "Why not, it doesn't matter in the end. Bowls and cups serve a purpose, it doesn't matter if they look fancy or cost a lot."

These plain white cups probably cost more than they look though...

The door opened and in came a short, cute little boy and a tall, stoic raven haired boy. They must be third years if they arrived last, even if the little boy doesn't look like it. I did read the club rules applying to all clubs, and you can't be a member of another school and participate in Ouran activities. Also, the little boy has an Ouran uniform.

"How kawaii! Haruhi has a gay boyfriend!" The little boy says, tilting his head to the side with a smile. Haruhi sweat drops again.

"I'm just a friend, and I came here to work on homework before the host club opens, and to hang out with Haruhi," I say, and I reach into my bag, pull out noise cancelling headphones, and plop them on.

"I'm just listening to music, so I can hear you guys talking still. Please, continue talking if you want," I say, and turn back to my homework.

I finish my worksheet, and I look up and see Tamaki talking to Kyoya, the twins and the third years. I take off my headphones, put them in my bag, and I leave.

They didn't seem to notice, so why should I care.

I get some McD's on the way home, and I texted Haruhi that I left because clubs would've started soon and that I didn't wish to intrude.

I just don't like the Host Club, but since Haruhi's my friend I didn't want to seem rude.

I arrived at my house, and saw that a package from Maaya had arrived. I opened it up and saw 2 really pretty dresses, a wig, 2 pairs of shoes, and makeup (not pictured). Maaya is a lifesaver, and I'll pay her back for reals one day.

I went into my room, and pulled out my computer and emailed the bar for a job interview, and they replied 10 minutes later that this Friday we can do a job interview.

I went to my dresser and found my fake I.D, and put it in a wallet along with my fake driver's license, which I'll use since I already learned how to drive a while ago. My fake female name is Akemi Watanabe, and I already created a fake person online so that if someone searches me on the internet with that name, information will come up. Nothing big, just average information, even a fake birth certificate.

I eat the McD's I bought, and hung up the dresses in my closet, putting away my shoes and hiding the wig. Tomorrow after school, I'm going to the optician's to pick up colored contact lenses.

I remove my makeup, and head to bed. 

6,100 words. DAMMMMMMMN. But seriously, my grammar isn't the best in summer, so excuse the mistakes please!

Reasons for having Tamaki finding Nao in the costume room 

Kyoya would try to investigate the mysterious person they found

The twins would harass Nao in class

Honey and Mori wouldn't care

Haruhi already knows who Nao is. 

Also- Tamaki is kind of oblivious and full of himself, so when Nao makes sarcastic remarks he takes it personally. Also, he is a loud mouth, meaning if he saw Nao again he'd make a big deal about it, which is what happened in the fake nail scene.

I'm gonna create a forum on my page to see who Nao/Kako might have a future love interest with, so feel free to vote! I will state later on when it closes.


	3. Chapter 3: Vines and Roses

Hey guys, thanks for checking out my story again. I wanna get some work done before school starts and swim practice, so I'll try to update frequently.

I wake up, feeling a throbbing paint on my chest. I look down at my chest, and trace the pink scar the throbbing pain originated from. Every so often, I'll feel the pain, but it doesn't affect me at all.

I follow my usual morning routine, and as I finish contouring my face and Adam's apple, my phone vibrates. I look over, and it's a text from Haruhi saying she can't be early to school like she usually is. I smirk, and I reply that it's fine. I grab an apply from the basket in my kitchen, and I grab my messenger bag and I head out the door, locking it as I leave. Today is the day I will initiate my plan so that I don't join swim team...

I arrive to school shortly, and I head to the library and pick up a few books, before heading back to 1-A and starting to read one called Arabian Nights.

Everyone arrived shortly after, and Haruhi and the twins came with them. Haruhi and I chatted for a bit, before the twins started poking my shoulder simultaneously. My eyebrow twitched and I turn around, making sure my glasses caught a glare and shadowed my eyes.

"What do you want," I state, looking both of them dead in the eye, and they both gulp.

"Come to the Host Club after school," they say with smirks, and I roll my eyes. "No," I say and I turn around in my seat, facing the front of the classroom.

"We'll poke your shoulders until you say yes," they say from behind me, and I feel them poking my shoulders again.

"Ok," I say, rolling my eyes. "Is that a yes for you coming?" they ask, "No, it's a 'go ahead, poke my shoulders because I don't care OK,'" I reply, rolling my eyes.

For the next four hours, they poke my shoulders. When the bell rings for lunch, I stand up. "I admire you for your unrelenting determination, but can we continue this after lunch? I have places to be," I say, looking back at them, and their eyebrows twitch.

"Fine, but don't think the second years can't get you to come," they say smugly, crossing both of their arms.

"I would've said yes the first time if only you guys said please," I state, and their jaws drop.

"Our arms are tired from poking you!" Hikaru says, and Kaouru nods in agreement, "Yes, why didn't you say so sooner?" Kaouru says, and I shrug.

"I don't know," I turn back around, time to initiate plan 'Not be on swim team'.

My shoe lace on my right foot was slightly pulled, so the end was flopping about. I take my left foot and step on it, holding my foot there for a split second longer as I sweep my left foot backwards, and I catch my right toe on the desk. I put my right hand in a fist, with my thumb facing my chest, and I hit the ground and hear a sickening crack.

A burning fire is felt in my pinky and wrist, and I fight to hide my smile. I successfully broken a bone, and I knew this feeling from getting kicked by getting stepped on by a cow and breaking my pinky toe.

"Ah!" I cry out, "M-my wrist really hurts!" I stutter, sitting up slightly, holding my wrist.

"Nao! Are you ok?" I hear Haruhi ask, footsteps pounding towards me, "How did this happen?" She asks, concern etched onto her face.

"I am this huge clutz, and I tripped and fell on my wrist, and it really hurts..." I say, wiping my eyes.

I feel bad for playing Haruhi like this, but it was necessary for me to not join swim team. If I broke a bone, I would be out the whole season.

"Let's get you to the nurse," Haruhi says, and I nod and stand up. I look at where the twins were standing, and they looked on the verge of laughing. I would be too if I tripped like that after attempting to roast someone...

We walked to the nurse in silence, and once I got there they took an X-ray of my arm. I can't believe they're doing this at a school, but it is a wealthy school, they seem to have almost everything.

"Well, bad news, your pinky and wrist is fractured, good news, it only needs a cast, and your scholarship covers medical costs since you're from a poor family," she states with a smile, and I smile back slightly, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

She puts an Ouran blue cast on my right arm, and one of those splints for my pinky. She tells me how to care for my cast and whatever else, telling me that I'll get it off in a month, and she sends me off to my class with 2-A for Advanced Algebra. I would arrive halfway through class, so I had a note so I wouldn't be tardy.

I arrived at the second year building, and as I walked through the hallway my footsteps echoed. I saw the 2-A door, and sighed, before slowly creaking it open. I saw my math teacher standing at the front, lecturing the students about whatever, and she looks at me.

"Come in! You're late, where's your note?" She asks, and I step in, and everyone's eyes are on me. I pass her the note, and she snatches it and looks at it. "Fractured wrist and pinky huh? What did you do?" She asks, and I walk to my seat and look her in the eyes.

"I tripped," I said, and sat down as the class laughed. "Mr. Araki, be serious with me, what did you do?" She asks, hands on her hips. "I tripped on my shoelace and a desk..." I say, pulling out my notebook and textbook.

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, Mr. Araki," she then turned her back to us and started explaining the new lesson.

"Hey, hey, hey Araki," I hear, and I turn to my right and see Tamaki sitting there, whispering to get my attention. "What?" I say, and he smiles, "Come to the host club today after school, please," he says, running his hands through his hair.

I smile lightly, and I shake my head no. "Twins must have told you what I said about the usage of the word 'please', and I appreciate the offer, but no."

"Why not?"

"I have plans previously arranged," I shrug, and continue taking notes.

"How about after school tomorrow?" He asks, and I shake my head no. Tomorrow is Friday, and I have a job interview, but I can't let him know that.

"Same as before, previous arrangements. I'll think about going on Monday," I say, and his shoulders slump slightly. "Fine," he says, and I smirk, knowing I won the teacher is pretty freaking oblivious to what is going on, but whatever.

Class quickly finished, and I packed up to my best ability and left the classroom as soon as I could. I went back to 1-A, and the rest of the day quickly ended. I left the school quickly after saying bye to Haruhi, and took an Uber to the optician.

I got my contacts quickly, payed and left, before I headed home. I had lots of work to do once I arrived home...

Once I got there, I got my fake I.D card and looked at it. Akemi Watanabe, 18 years old, black hair in the photo, and blue eyes. I have the blue eye contacts, but I have a purple-blue wig... I don't think anyone will mind.

I head to youtube and get some songs up, some pretty chill, some pretty badass, and some oldies but goodies. I can rap somewhat well, so I get some songs I can rap too (show off them skills) and some songs that are lowkey easy for me, so I can take a break. The whole playlist is around an hour long, which works pretty well for a base playlist, and I download all the songs onto my mp3 player.

(A/N- playlist on youtube and search Vines and Roses-playlist)

I turn towards the mirror, and I remove all makeup and wash my face, before I apply more makeup, to make my face seem older, eyebrows thicker, and lips pinker. I contour my face for a more feminine look, and I put in the blue contacts. God, I seriously hate wearing contacts...

I put on my wig, and I make sure it fits my head correctly, as I make adjustments to it until it's perfect. Looking in the mirror, I look good to go. Since it was just a practice for tomorrow, I remove my makeup and wig, itching my scalp. I take out the contacts and put them in a cutesy case that I used to use, with pink flowers and hearts on it. For my regular contacts, it's just a plain black case.

I do my homework, eat an apple, some hacking jobs for glasses...

Wait...glasses guy. Could it be someone who goes to Ouran?

I quickly pull up his emails, and search the database. I seemed to have gotten lots of requests from glasses about information on people who attend Ouran, and the only person who attends Ouran he hasn't requested any information about was...

Kyoya Ootori.

Recalling this afternoon, he had a know-it-all attitude, as if he knew something that others didn't... he also wears glasses...

Bah! Can't believe I'm working for an upperclassman, what if he found out my secret? He seems smart enough by himself...

I quickly hacked into his profile and saw basic information, by that how rich he is as the third son of a huge business.

No wonder he could pay me so much, and on a regular basis too!

I memorized half of the songs on the playlist easily, and decided to memorize the rest tomorrow during lunch and on the way to school.]

I changed into my pajamas and undid my chest bindings (felt 83648438643864x better than taking off a bra) and read Arabian Nights until I finished the book around midnight, before I went to sleep.

+DREAM-

I was floating in an abyss of black, and it felt peaceful... Strings of floating yellow lights suddenly lit up before me, but it was still black around me. I breast-stroked through the air with my head up, following the string of lights. I look at my hands, and they are the ones of children... I breaststroked until a pink door appeared infront of me, and I reached forward and grabbed the brass handle, and slowly opened the door...

Inside was my room when I was 8 years old, which was painted a light pink. It was a simple room, much like my current room, but with a lot more stuffed animals and kids books. Inside was my dad, who sat on the bed with his legs crossed, right over left, with his foot twitching, head looking towards the window behind him.

"Daddy? What are you doing in my room?" I ask, walking towards him for a hug. This seemed to be a past memory...

He looks towards me, eyes pitch black and he opens his mouth, which reeks of chlorine and eggs from where I am standing. "You are not your brother," he says gently, "you are far prettier, and much gentler, but pretty and gentle things are easy to be broken and soon become worthless," I feel tears running down my cheeks, and he stands up and walks towards me. "I don't want to be broken," I say, and he laughs. His laughs start out gentle, and soon became sharp as knives, when I feel a sharp pain on my chest. I look down and see the scar, but it was bleeding a chrome silver. I take my right hand's pinky finger, and gently touch the blood, and it burns my finger. My finger evaporates into the air, and so does the rest of my hand, leaving behind a trail of pink ribbons. I look around, and see I am standing in a circular room, full of mirrors.

I'm wearing a floaty blue dress, that is moving as if I am not in gravity, and the purple blue wig I was wearing earlier is floating too, but it's attached to my head.

Two doors materialize, each opposite of eachother. One door is purely white, and has a picture of Nao Araki with a neutral face on the front of it. I turn around, dress swishing along, and the other door I see is a silver chrome, like the color I was bleeding. It has a picture of me, Kako, on it, with a neutral face.

I guess I am supposed to go in a door, but which one should I chose?

The world fades to black, and I suddenly feel like I am falling, and I reach out and grasp a hand...

I jolt awake, breathing heavily. The dream seemed really realistic... I grab my phone and look at the time, 4:30.

I get dressed, put on a baggy sweater and sweatpants with stains on them, and contoured my face again to look like a guy, and I grab my stuff and head out the door at 5:00 with some books.

I walked to Starbucks 3 miles away, and I get there at 5:45, and got myself a coffee and two muffins. I sat there until 6:45, munching on one of the muffins, doing hacking jobs on the wifi while memorizing the songs. I got an Uber back to school, and got there at 7, and worked on memorizing the other songs on the playlist. My earbuds were on full blast, and I was having a great time, memorizing, humming and reading a book, until 7:30 rolled around when the door opened.

"Hey Haruhi, what's u-" I say, looking up from my book and I see a tall person with longish red hair, a mean-ish face, book under his arm. "Oh sorry, I thought you were my friend Haruhi for a moment," I say, standing up and walking towards him.

"I'm Nao Araki," I say, sticking out my hands, "Class 1-A."

"U-um, Ritsu Kasanoda, class 1-D, I went into the wrong room on accident."

"Don't worry 'bout it, I get lost easily too," I say, and I look at the book under his arm.

"Is that...Geometry for Dummies?" I ask, and his face turns red as he puts it behind his back with his right hand.

"Wh-what? No, it's a book about...err... trucks and guns."

"Trucks and guns?" I ask, tilting my head to the side, "well, whatever floats your boat."

He sighs, "Yeah, it's Geometry for Dummies, I have a big test next Tuesday, and I really want to pass..."

"I can tutor you, help you study for the test?" I ask, and he nods.

"That'd be great! Wait... do you want anything from me in return? Is that why you're asking?" He says, looking mad.

"Nah, you said you have a test coming up and based off the fact you're reading a book for dummies and you said you really want to pass..." I say, trailing off

"Wait, you are one of the scholarship students, right?" He asks, and I nod.

"That's a relief..." he says for some reason.

"Ayway, I can't help today, but I'll help you after school on Monday. What's your number?" I ask, pulling out my phone.

"Oh, um it's 669-639-6669," he says, (i didn't know what to say for a phone number lol) and I add him as a contact.

"Great! If I don't see you until after school on Monday, I'll text you where to meet me."

"Thank you!" He says, before walking briskly out of the classroom. He seems like he is hard on the outside, but soft on the inside, like a crab. He can be a totally nice person if I get to know him.

I went back to my seat, and listened to music and read for a bit until everyone entered the class. Haruhi arrived with everyone else, and she told me she can't come early to classes anymore, and I told her it was fine.

"Oh yeah! I went to Starbucks and got you a muffin," I say, pulling the muffin out of my bag and giving it to her.

"Oh sweet! Thanks!" She said, putting it in her bag. "I'll eat it at lunch... Oh god I'm really sorry but I can't sit with you at lunch anymore, the Host Club is making me eat with them. Something about general appearance and keeping an eye on me. You can sit at the table with us if you want," Haruhi says, and I smile.

"Sure, I'll sit with you guys, don't worry about it."

"Great!" Haruhi says, giving me the thumbs up. Just then, the two devilish twins walk in and sit behind us, talking to themselves.

All of the sudden, a bunch of girls rush over to where Haruhi and I were sitting.

"Wow Araki! I can't believe you broke your wrist and pinky," A girl with long brown hair states.

"Yeah, Haruhi, that was so cool how you helped Araki," another girl said, "that was pretty brave of you how you stepped up and saved Araki."  
"Haruhi is so manly and strong!"

"Haruhi, would you help us if we broke a bone?"

I fought myself to keep from laughing, as I look at Haruhi. She seems really flustered, as she was being surrounded.

"Well, in my opinion, I think it would have been harder for me to deal with it if it wasn't for Haruhi. She really helped me," I say, looking Haruhi in the eyes as the girls squealed about how cool Haruhi is.

"Ladies! Sit down, class is starting!" The teacher says, entering the classroom.

"Sorry sensei!" The girls say, running to their seats.

Class started, and I took notes and read along in the textbook. Class was uneventful and passed quickly.  
"Ready to head to lunch?" Haruhi asks, and I nod.

We walked to the cafeteria which is huge. It was so big, you could fit probably ten of my apartments.

"Wow," I say, and Haruhi just nods. "Our table is at the center," she says, leading me toward where the table is.

The tables in the cafeteria are long tables that can fit ten people, and Haruhi and I sat on one of the ends across from eachother.

She pulled out rice, carrots and a muffin, while I pulled out a peanut butter jelly sandwich.

"Why, isn't that Araki?" I hear from behind me, and I see the little boy from the host club.

"Hi Honey," I say, waving at him, "Hi Nao-Chan!" He says, waving back excitedly as Mori appears behind him with a lunch tray. "Hey Mori," I say, and he nods in response. God, tall guys are so hot, strong and silent types are so cool. I can see his gimick for the host club was natural.

They both sit next to eachother on Haruhi's side, with Honey being directly next to Haruhi and Mori next to him. "I wanted to sit next to my dau-I mean son!" I hear an annoying voice say from behind me, and I turn around and see Tamaki and Kyoya. "Oh well, diagonal won't be as bad," he says, sitting next to me.

"What are you doing here Araki?" Says Kyoya, sitting next to Tamaki. I can tell Kyoya was forcing himself to remain polite, but the way he phrased it sounded rude.

"Haruhi invited me to sit here with them for lunch, if any of you have a problem with that I can always move..." I say, taking a bite into my peanut butter jelly.

"No, stay here Nao-chan!" Says Honey with watery eyes, and Haruhi nods. "Yeah you guys, I invited my friend to sit here, so please don't be rude to them." Haruhi says, taking a bite of her muffin.

"By the way Tamaki, I'm not gonna come to the Host Club on Monday."

"What?!" He asks, throwing his hands up into the air.

"No need to be dramatic Tamaki, I just can't come," I say, and he turns white.

Rolling my eyes, I look at Kyoya, "Why did you guys want me to come anyway?"

Kyoya smirked, and I can feel two arms but themselves on my shoulder. I turn my head and see the twins resting their arms on my shoulders.

"We want you to join the Host Club!" They say, sparkles flying around them (from out of no where)  
"No."

"Why not? The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as the Ouran Academy's elegant playground for the super-rich and beautiful," Tamaki said, red rose in hand.

"Where did the rose come from?" I ask, looking at the table for a box of roses or something.

"Nevermind that, Araki, if you join we will pay you a commission of 60% of hosting, while the 40% goes to Host Club costs, example you getting a uniform or our cosplays." Kyoya says, writing in his notebook.

"I'll consider the offer, but I might not be able to host everyday of the week..." I say, thinking about my job from 4-12 at night, and I don't even know which nights I'd be working.

"We can work around your schedule," Kyoya says, and I nod.

"Alright, I'll do it..." I say, and Tamaki returns from his white shade. "OH! A new family member! I'm so excited and happy!" He says, acting like a little child.

"I'll come in on Tuesday and start that day, I have plans today and Monday," I say, and Kyoya shakes his head.

"You should start today, Monday at the very most," Kyoya says and I shrug, and I start packing up my lunch.

"Nao-chan, what are you doing?" Honey asks, but I ignore him. "Yeah Araki," Hikaru begins, "Lunch isn't over for 30 more minutes," Kaouru finishes.

I stand up from the table, lunch box in hand.

"I guess I can't join than, thanks for the offer though," I say, walking away from the lunch table *LIKE A BOSS*.

"Wait up Nao!" I hear Tamaki say, but I keep walking. Silence is the best way to get attention.

I walk to the 2-A classroom, and sit down and listen to my playlist while eating lunch alone, before I go back to reading Scarlet Letter.

The bell rings and I put away my lunch into my messenger bag, and pull out my notebook for math and my math text book.

I put away my mp3 player, and I see Tamaki with Kyoya walk into the room. Kyoya ignores me, and I ignore him, but Tamaki keeps looking at me.

It makes me feel pretty uncomfortable...

"Araki," Tamaki says, "Araki Araki Araki Ara-"

"What do you want."

"Come to the host club after school?"  
"No."

"Pretty please with cherry on top?"

"No."

"Pretty please with ice cream, cake, and million yen?"

...

I'm not going to even bother replying.

"At least he didn't say no," Says Tamaki to Kyoya.

I roll my eyes and continue to take notes, and when the bell rings for class I single handedy put away my belongings into my bag and leave wordlessly.

I return to 1-A for the remainder of the afternoon, and all classes for the day end at 3:00. My interview is at 5:00, so I quickly leave the building and call for an Uber. I'm almost at the front gate when two pairs of arms grab mine, causing me to drop my messenger bag.

"Target," Hikaru says, "Captured!" Finishes Kaouru, and I roll my eyes.

"Hikaru, you're hurting my arm, mind loosening up?" I ask, even though it wasn't hurting.

"Oh, yeah sorry," he says, loosening his grip.

"Thank you, well, thank you for two reasons," I say, with a small smirk growing on my face.

"What is that?" They say in unison, and I lift my head up slightly.

"Well, one reason, excessive, intense pressure on a fractured bone is not good, especially within the week of an injury taking place, because the bone can easily fracture again and that's not good, and two," I say, quickly slipping my arm out of Hikaru's loosened grip and elbowing him in the stomach, lightly enough to not cause severe damage, but enough to knock him over into the ground.

"Hikaru!" Says Kaouru, loosening his grip, and I take my left arm and push him to the ground, before grabbing my fallen messenger bag.

"Sorry for elbowing you Hikaru, and pushing you Kaouru, but I'm not a touchy-feely kind of guy, and I'm definitely not a target to be captured so easily," I say, and hear my phone ding.

"Uber here! Gotta blast!" I say, waving my unbroken arm in a goodbye wave before turning around and walking to the car, opening the door and sitting inside.

"Oh boy, you had yourself some trouble there," The male uber driver says in a gruff voice.

"You can say that again," I said, and he gives a grunt.

He pulls up to my apartment complex, and I tip him 400 yen, before I leave the car.

It's 3:30, and I have to be at the bar by 5:00, so I rush inside my house and remove my male makeup, before I apply the makeup I practiced the night previous.

I put on my wig, and unbind my chest before putting on a real bra. It felt so good, to finally be free!

I put on a black tank top with a green plaid shirt over it, and I tied the green plaid shirt at the front. I put on a pair of dark jeans and red flats, and I put on brown boots. The plaid shirt goes over my cast, so you can't see it too bad.

I look in the mirror, and I gotta say I look pretty good. Long purple hair that's blue at the ends, blue eyes, makeup on fleek that makes me look 18, cute outfit and shoes... I dressed low-key so they know how I would dress for a bar, not an office job.

I look at my watch, 4:15. I call for an Uber, and while waiting I grab a bottle of pink nail polish and paint my nails quickly, and I let them air dry. I grab a spare purse I brought along, putting my phone and keys into it along with my wallet, and I leave the house at 4:30 in the Uber.

I arrived at the bar at 4:55, and I walked inside. It was pretty nice, with a small stage, some tables and a huge bar. No lights flickering, or mysterious blood stains on the floor. The room has a unique shape, it seems to be a long oval...

"You must be Akemi Watanabe," I hear a deep, feminine voice say from behind me. I turn around and see a tall woman with a black pixie cut and large, brown eyes. She has eyebrow piercings and 3 ear piercings per ear, and she has long legs with a short torso. She's wearing jeans and a long sleeve black tee.

"Yes I am, nice to meet you," I say.

"Likewise, I own this bar. Call me Miyako, and welcome to the Madoka (The Circle in English). Though, this room is more of an oval..." She says, and I smile.

"Please, sit, let's get this interview over," She says, and I nod, passing her my resume.

"So, no experience singing professionally for a job?" She asks, and I shake my head no.

"In highschool and middle school, I used to be the lead vocalist in choir though," I say, and she laughs a bit.

"You're still in highschool aren't ya," she says, and I feel my eyes widen.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, but I will say yes. I really need this job Miss Miyako," I say, bowing my head slightly.

"Listen, I'm 35 years old. I went to college to get a job for the gov, and for about 3 years I worked as a behavioral analyst. Best at it, I didn't have to study these criminals for longer than 5 seconds to know why they did the shit they did. I can tell from posture what they do, and how old they are."

"Damn," I say, and she laughs again. "It's true, I don't lie, now tell me, why do you need a job?" She asks, and I look into her eyes.

"I live alone and need a job to pay the bills, food, and for personal necessities."

"Good reason," she says, "are you a second year?" "First, at Ouran Private High School," I say, and she nods.

"Scholarship than... alrighty. Can you show me your playlist that you'd perform?" She asks, and I nod, passing her the mp3 player along with a printed off version off the songs I'd sing.

She looks at the list of songs, and looks up at me. "Good choices, this bar is modern and needs that kind of music, not that shitty kind of rock and roll, can you sing Undercover Martyn?" I nod, and think of the backbeat in my head, before I open up my mouth and start singing.

(A/N QUESTION-IN THE STORY should I put in the lyrics when they sing, or should I not? Please leave your opinion in the reviews, or private message me. For now, I'll put in the first verse and bridge, with what's going on in between the bolded lyrics)

 **And she spoke words that would melt in your hands**  
 **And she spoke words of wisdom**

Miyako nodded, writing something down on a piece of paper.

 **To the basement people, to the basement**  
 **Many surprises await you**  
 **In the basement people, in the basement**

I rapped my fingers to the imaginary beat in my head, with a *click click* sound

 **You hid there last time, you know we're gunna find you**  
 **Sick in the car, sick 'cause you're not up to going**

Miyako was tapping her foot, bobbing her head slightly.

 **Out on the main streets, completing your mission**  
 **You hid there last time, you know we're gunna find you**  
 **Sick in the car, sick 'cause you're not up to going**  
 **Out on the main streets, completing your mission**

I sang the rest of the song with the same enthusiasm, tapping my fingers to the beat and her smiling.

"Ok, I think it's safe to say you got the job. I'll leave it up to you what nights you want to do, do you have any idea what you want to start off with? You can always decide or change later," she says, and I smile widely.

"Thank you! Can I do Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday?" I ask, and she shrugs. "Go ahead, you'll get a paycheck every two weeks. Since the work time is from 4-12, you have a 10 minute break every 2 hours, since data shows that no one at the bar stays longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes since we have a 4 drink limit." I nod, and she smiles. "Great! Since today is closed for the interviews, and you are the last one, I'll contact everyone else that they didn't get it."

She stands up, and I stand up too. "If you ever need anything, since, y'know, you live alone, feel free to, uh, contact me," she says, and I nod. "I didn't have a good mother figure when I was growing up, alright? Us girls gotta stick together." I smile, and nod. "You don't seem like the motherly type, more like awesome big sister type," I say, and she smiles lightly and laughs. "I don't feel too old than, you can start tomorrow." I smile, and wave goodbye as I walk out.

I decide to walk to McD's and get a shake and burger.

I walk to a table and sit down with my food. "To me getting a job," I whisper, before eating my greasy food.

I quickly finish my burger, and I walk out with my milkshake and I head home.

I do my homework for the weekend, read a book, and shower. Tomorrow I'm going to the gym in the afternoon, before I'm going to work.

That was a long chapter... So to figure out which character Nao/Akemi should have a love interest with, please leave a review saying which character. Check me out on wattpad JustDaBook


	4. Chapter 4: Vines and Roses

Wow! 53 views (well, when I'm writing this 53 views) on my chapter the day it uploads :0! That's awesome! I also got 2 new reviews on who Nao/Akeme should have as a possible love interest. I'd love to see more reviews too, so feel free to upload a review :D also, in the review, you should give me an idea on who Nao/Akeme should have as a love interest, because the more feedback the merrier.

Anyway, onwards!

I groggily wake up in the morning, tired from this week's past events. I look towards my clock, oh god it's already 8:00!

I put on some workout clothes, a sports bra, and I weave my wig into my hair so it stays there and doesn't shift. Looking in the mirror, it's odd to see how my face looks makeup-less, and how I can see my chest at the same time. I roll my eyes at this thought, I chose to be this way. I quickly put in my blue contacts in my eyes, and I walk to my kitchen/living room, grabbing a milk carton from the refrigerator, a water bottle, and an apple. I take my phone and put it in my bag with the waterbottle, and I start to eat my apple with the milk, before throwing it in the trash. I put a swimsuit, goggles and cap in my bag too, just incase... I decide to remove my cast, and I simply follow instructions online so I can just slip it on again, I'll just be gentle with it and I won't my bad hand.I put on my tennis shoes, and throw my apartment keys in my bag, before leaving the apartment, locking it on my way out. I walk to the very exclusive gym 5 miles from my house that Akemi Watanabe's name miraculously appeared on the list as a long time user. Of course, the miraculous part was partially due to my hacking, the other part was how they haven't discovered why a random name popped up.

When I arrived, I couldn't tell if it was a gym or a small mansion. It looked like Ciel's house from Black Butler, not to mention it was in a wealthy neighborhood.

I walked inside the gymansion, and I looked around in awe. It had marble floors, high ceilings, and a chandelier. Who puts a freaking chandelier in a gym?!

Rich people.

I walk over to the wooden desk at the center.

"Um, hi Sir, should I check in?" I ask the 60-70 year old man at the secretary desk.

"Oh yes, you are?" He asks, "Akemi Watanabe," I say, and he nods, clicking on his computer.

"Ah, there you are, I checked you in. The pool is on the roof, the dojo is in the left wing upstairs, equipment in the right wing upstairs, female locker rooms right wing level floor, male locker rooms left wing level floor. Basement is yoga room."

"Wow, thank you sir," I say nodding, walking away from the secretary desk and heading up the stairs to the equipment room.

Inside was a massive amount of physical equipment, with high ceilings and wooden floors. There's only 2 other people in the room, a tall stoic man and a short blonde kid-

Oh god, it's them. If I turn and ran they might suspect me of something wrong... I'll just ignore them I guess.

I walk over to the treadmill in the corner, and I start running. I guess I was running pretty fast, because suddenly I hear...

"Wow! You're pretty fast for a girl!" I hear a small, cute sounding voice say from behind me. I wanted to turn around and slap him for that sexist comment, but I ignored it. "Thanks!" I say, turning around.

Mori walked next to him, lurking there next to honet.

"I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, and this is Takashi Morinozuku, but you can call us Honey and Mori," he says, sticking out his small hand.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Akemi Watanabe, I hope you take care of me," I say with a small smile, shaking his hand.

"So, what brings you to the gym?" I ask, "Our dojo's equipment room is under construction because someone punched a hole in the wall, but that's okay! So my friend Kyoya gave us vouchers for the gym until our dojo is fixed. What about you Ake-chan?" He says, and my eyes slightly widen at the hole-in-wall-punch, but I ignore it.

"I haven't worked out in a while, and I gotta stay fit," I say.

"Oh well that's just dandy!" Honey explains, and I smile lightly. "Hey Ake-chan, we are heading to lunch, want to come with us?" Honey asks, sparkles appearing in his eyes.

"Ok, sure!" I say, and he throws his hands up into the air. "Yay! Hug time!" He says, attempting to hug me but I push him off.

"Sorry Honey, I am strictly no hugs. Nothing against you, I just don't like them," I say, and he frowns. "Ok," he says sadly. Honey can't fool me, I see how when he hug them girls he bury his face in their chest, and he only gets away with it because he is 'so kawaii!'. "Honey, where would you want to go for lunch," Mori grunts out, and Honey smiles again. Nice save there Mori...

"Let's take her to the sandwich place, with the cakes!" Honey says, and Mori nods.

We leave the gym and enter a huge stretch limo. "Want anything to drink?" Honey asks, and I shake my head no.

"What school do you guys go to?" I ask, "Ouran Private High School, we are both 3rd years!" Honey exclaims, sparkles in eyes. "What school do you go to Ake-chan?"

"Oh, uh well, it's kinda hard to explain, but I'm taking a year off attending school-school, and using online classes instead," I said, and he nods. "What grade are you?" Honey asks, "I'm a freshmen in college," I say and they nod.

We talked for a bit more, and we soon arrived at the sandwich shop, and sit at a table. I sit next to Mori, and Honey sits across from us.

"What are you going to eat Ake-chan?" Asks Honey, "I'm going to eat a~ll the cakes!"

That was 20 types! "I think I'm going to get a meatball sub, what about you Takashi?"

He looks over at me for a moment, stunned that I called him by his first name. "Oh, sorry for calling you by your first name, I'm already used to how Honey refers to you as Takashi," I say, bowing slightly.

"No, it's okay. Call me Takashi, I'm having a sandwich."

I sweatdropped a bit, no shit he was having a sandwich, that's all this place sold, with subs and cakes.

"Honey, do you do any clubs or sports at Ouran?" I ask, and he nods smiling.

"I'm part of the host club! We entertain the ladies, with Usa-Chan! And I get cake! Isn't that right Takashi?" He says, throwing his hands up in the air, looking towards Takashi.  
"Yes," he says nodding.

A middle aged waitress comes over. "Oh, aren't you guys a cute family... How old is he?" Asks the woman, looking toward Mori and I.

"Oh, um, well," I say, looking towards Mori.

"This is our adopted child from Germany," I say, looking towards the lady in all seriousness. "He absolutely refuses to talk in anything except German. Isn't that right Adolf (literally the only german name I know)?" I ask, looking towards Honey and winking.

"Ja!" Says Honey, with a faux accent. "He's also 17 years old. I'm 14, and my hubby over here is 12." I say, looking her in the eye.

"What a diverse family!" The lady says, smiling and cringing at the same time. We placed our orders, and she practically ran to the kitchen.

We all started laughing, well, Takashi snorted slightly with a small smile, but Honey was clutching his stomach while I was laughing while snorting.

"A-A-ke-chan," Honey says in between laughs, "wh-why do you sn-oort?"

"I can't help it," I say, laughter dying down. "Laughing is essential in life, so I'm not going to repress my silly laugh," I say, sticking my tongue out slightly.

We talked for a bit more, Mori occasionally nodding or shaking his head, when the food came. We ate, and it was the best meatball sub ever.

Honey ate all 20 cakes quickly, and Mori ate a plain sandwich. I offered to pay my part of the bill, but they said no because they invited me to come.

"I'll have to have you guys over for lunch sometime," I say with a smile. I give them my Akemi email and we leave the sandwich shop after paying.

"I'll see you guys later," I say, waving goodbye.

"Don't you want a ride home?" Honey asks, "Nah, I need the cardio, bye Hubby and Adolf!" I say, looking at my phone seeing it's already 2:30. "Bye Ake-chan!" "Bye Akemi."

I walk home, and arrive at 3:00, and I apply my makeup and wig. I decide to wear white converse, black crop top, and a white skirt with a red cardigan. I put back on my cast since my wrist started hurting again, and I covered it with my red cardigan.

I finished doing this at 3:30, and I caught an Uber to work.

I walked into the bar and saw it was kinda empty, except for a few people here and there. "Hey!" I hear Miyako say, and I turn around and saw her. "Hey Miyako!" I say, waving towards her.

"The stage is over there, you can set up a tip jar or whatever on the corner of the stage."

I look at the stage, it's pretty small, and elevated up about a foot. Probably 8 feet by 12 feet... it works though.

"Okay, should I clock in or..." I trail off, "Nah, I know you work 4-12 and if I don't see you I won't count that towards your pay. Do you wanna warm up in the backroom or..."

"Nah, I'm good. I extended the playlist to two hours, so I'll take a 10 min break every 2 hours."  
"Great, the microphone is good. I also brought a guitar to the stage that's already tuned, but if you can't play it we can hook up the speaker system," she says, and I nod.

"I can play guitar pretty well," I say, shrugging. "I memorized the songs backwards and forwards, so I can do it."

"Sweet! Go on up when you're ready," she says, "I work the bar most of the time, sometimes my girlfriend works it, so on your break you can come over and sit by the bar or go to the employee room.  
"Thanks!" I say, and I walk up to the stage.

"Hello," I say, grabbing the guitar and a pick next to it, and the few people in the bar turn towards me.  
"I'm Akemi, and, well, I don't know what else to say!" I start playing the beginning of Seven Nation Army (cover by Melanie Martinez)

I took a short breath, and started singing lightly.

 **I'm gonna fight 'em off**  
 **A seven nation army couldn't hold me back**

I see people bobbing their heads, and tapping their feet.  
 **They're gonna rip it off**  
 **Taking their time right behind my back**  
 **And I'm talkin' to myself at night**  
 **Because I can't forget**  
 **Back and forth through my mind**  
 **Behind a cigarette**  
I inhaled, starting to force my voice out louder.  
 **And the message comin' from my eyes says, "Leave it alone."**

Someone did a "wooo!" and I smiled lightly. I saw someone start to record me, but I ignored it.

I continued singing and got a bit of an applause.

"Thank you everyone, I have a tip fedora at the corner of the stage if you want to leave me something. I'll be here Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 4-12," I say with a bit of a smile, before I play the chords of the next song.

Around 5, more people started coming and I was met with positive feedback. By 9:00, I had already dumped out my tips into my purse twice. This job was a major haul! I got requests for more songs, and some for my number.

At 11:45, the bar closed and I helped Miyako clean up the bar, and I got an Uber and went home. I got 30,367.80 (300 US dollars) yen from tips! Of course, Saturday night would probably be the busiest, but still.

I removed my makeup and wig, and fell asleep.

(A/N, I'm just gonna time skip to Monday. Just imagine the same thing happened on Sunday night, except a 25,306.50 (250) dollar tip instead. At the end of the Sunday night, Nao texts Kasanoda about studying before school in library, and meeting up after school in the courtyard.)

After the weekend, I was exhausted. I applied my makeup man makeup, restricted my hounds, and put on a pair of baggy sweatpants and a huge sweat shirt. I put on my glasses, which felt extremely nice after using contacts all weekend, and I mussed up my hair.

"Ah, screw it," I say, before putting it in a man-pony (LIKE COLE SPROUSE). I had gotten up early (5:00), and walked to school and got there by 6:00.

I walked to the fifth library and saw it was empty, except for Kasanoda.

"Kasanoda-kun! How are you?" I ask, walking towards where he was sitting.

"Oh, hi Araki-kun," He says, pulling out his geometry book. "Please, call me Nao, since we're friends."\

"We-we're friends?" He asks, stuttering. "Well yeah! Friends help friends," I say, looking at him. He blushes slightly and looked away.

"Call me Ritsu than," He says, and I nod.

"Anyway, let's start," I say, pulling out a whiteboard from my messenger bag. "What do you want to work on?"

For an hour and thirty minutes (until 7:30), I showed him how to correct his mistakes and properly use formulas and remember them.

"Is it really that simple?" He asks, and I nod.

"Once you get the hang of things it's like a walk in the park!" I say with a smile.

"The only annoying thing is that my hair keeps getting in my eyes," he says, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't want to cut it."  
"Well, put it in a pony tail," I say, reaching into my bag and grabbing a hairband from my messenger bag.

"But ponytails are girly!" He says, and I laugh. "I'm wearing one right now you doof, I'm insulted," I say, pretending to be serious.

"Ahh-gomen!" He says, and I laugh. "Guys can still look tough and cool with ponytails, ever see Cole Sprouse?"

"I guess," he says with a sigh, and I stand up and walk behind him.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He asks, and I grab some hair and brush it back with my fingers.

"Wait a minute," I say, putting his hair into a ponytail like mine.

"See? Pretty cool looking," I say, and he pulls out his phone and turns on the camera app.

"Now you don't look like a shaggy hobo!" I say, and he glares at me. "Sorry, I meant rich shaggy hobo," I say, and he rolls his eyes.

"Thanks," he says, "I look less 'shabby hobo' I guess."

"That's the spirit," I say, as I take the books I read this weekend and last week and put them in the return bucket.

"Do you want to study again after school, or do you think you're good to go?" I ask, and he shakes his head no.

"Business came up, so I can't study after school today, thanks anyway."

I remember reading online that class -D if for affiliates of the yakuza, and how -A is for high ranking businesses, royalty, or in my case, honor student.

"That's ok! I'm sure you'll do great on the test," I say, packing up my stuff.

"Thanks Ara-Nao," he says, correcting himself.

"No prob bob," I say, using the saying my brother texted me that Americans use.

"My name...isn't Bob, it's ~R~itsu Kasanoda~!" (When I put the ~ symbol somewhere, just imagine they are dragging out the word a bit more, it's easier than writing Rrrritsu Kasanodaaa!) He says, voice deepening on his name, practically rumbling it out.

"I know you goofball," I say chuckling, "it's an American saying, I got it from watching American telly programs." (A/N- I'm American, but I call the television telly because I'm too lazy to say TV or television,)

"Oh, well... bye."

He walks abruptly out of the room, and I shrug. He seems a bit tsundere...

I head to class 1-A, and I arrive at 7:45 when everyone else arrives, chatting with Haruhi.

"Hey Araki, can you come to the," Hikaru begins, sneaking up behind my desk.

"Host club after school today," Kaouru says, "PRETTY PLEASE?" They said, batting both of their eyelashes.

"No," I say, and turn towards Haruhi.

"Can I come to the host club after school today Haruhi, please?" I say, and she nods. "Sure," she says, and I see the twins' jaws drop.

"Kaouru," Hikaru begins, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes brother, I think we have a new toy," Kaouru finishes, both of them turning towards me, grinning evilly.

"Oh hell no, I ain't some thing you pick up from the toy aisle at Target. I can be a friend, an acquaintance, an ally, an enemy, or no one at all to you two. Make your choice, I don't care," I say, turning around as the teacher begins their lesson.

Lunch time quickly rolled around, and I walked to the lunch room with Haruhi. For lunch today, I had a Lunchable, straight from the American aisle at the grocery mart. The nacho type :D

"Hi Nao-chan!" I hear Honey say, and I turn and wave at him and Mori. "Hi Honey, hi Mori," I say, and Mori nods at me, and they sit next to Haruhi.

"Again, I can't sit next to my daughter, but I can sit next to my son!" I hear that annoying posh voice say from behind me, and I see Tamaki and Kyoya walking towards our table.

"Tamaki, you can't be my father. You look more like a grandpa," I say, dipping my tiny chip into the cheese part. I see Tamaki turn white, and Kyoya smirking as he writes something in his book.

"Wow, good one Araki," the twins say, walking to the table and sitting across from eachother.

(A/N I'm just gonna have the table area be the same for the rest of this fanfic unless stated otherwise)

+++++++++++++++++table order+++++++++++

Kaouru _ Mori_ Honey _ Haruhi

Hikaru _ Kyoya_ Tamaki_Nao

Anyway, back to the fanfic!

"Anyway, so I'll be coming to the host club today, I decided I'll be a host, on a few conditions," I say, and I see Kyoya nod, bringing out his black notebook.  
"They are?"

"1, I work only Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'll work until the designated time, but Friday I work until 3. Unless stated otherwise, I'll work the other two days until designated time. 2, I know you guys have a ball thingie coming up, and this will be the only event I don't attend because I already have plans. 3, I keep the glasses, I have allergic reactions to a chemical product used in all contacts, so don't even bother. 4, uh," I say, thinking of something to say.

"4, tell me why you think Haruhi is a guy and make her act like one," I say, and the table goes silent, all looking at me.

"You, know?" Tamaki says, leaning close to me, clasping his hand onto my thigh. "Listen Senpai, we are both guys, and I think this is considered sexual assault," I say, looking at his hand calmly.

"I was trying to get your attention I wasn't trying to prove anything!" Tamaki rushes quickly, face turning red.

"Tamaki, we never knew you preyed on young boys," the twins say, and Tamaki covers his face in his hands.

"It was our mistake in the beginning," Kyoya says, "and this is the fastest way she can repair her debt." Kyoya is almost as bad as Mr. Krabs it seems...

"I won't tell, but am I right when I say Tamaki was the last to find out?" I say, and everyone nods.

"Figures," I say under my breath. "All right, we accept your terms and conditions," Kyoya says.

"Yay, another son!" I hear Tamaki say, coming out of his red state, throwing his hands up to give me a hug.

"No Tamaki, from what I learned previously you're a perv, and I don't like hugging pervs," I say, turning away from him.

Haruhi puts her hand over her mouth to prevent her from laughing, the twins are silently laughing and Kyoya smirks. Mori is being Mori.

"I would never be a perv to my son!"

"Grandson, actually, grandpa."

He turns white, and goes to the corner of the cafeteria and starts growing mushrooms.

"Is... no one going to stop him from growing mushrooms?" Haruhi asks, with a funny look on her face.

"He does this quite oftenly," Kyoya begins, "we trade the mushrooms for extra supplies we might need from the kitchen."

"Huh," I say.

"Anyway, come to the Host Club after school, we'll close for the day to prepare you," Kyoya says, looking at me.

"Okay," I say, eating some more chips and cheese from my lunchables.

==Time Skip to the end of the day==

I walk to the host club after school alone, because I had to stop and tie my shoes (idk what else to write)

I was halfway there when I hear a voice call out "Hey, Araki whatever your name is." They sound pretty snobby, oh god...

"Hello," I say, turning around. "You're Sukimono, right?"

"Yeah, Hisoka Sukimono," I looked her up and down, she is definitely not reserved like her name translates.

"Listen up Salami," she says, "I don't like you. You seem like a man-whore, a gay,ugly and really stupid."

A crowd surrounds us, watching and whispering about her.

"Evidence?" I ask, really pissed how she called me gay. Gay isn't an insult, it's a word used to describe someone and how they feel for others emotionally.

"Um, well, you were so stupid they could't keep you in class 1-A because you will drag the class down to 1-D, and, uh, those, uh..." She says, trailing off.

"Exactly hun, now listen. If I was so stupid that they couldn't keep me in class 1-A, I wouldn't be a scholarship student, especially one who is taking a math class meant for older students. Also, people in class 1-D that I know are very smart," I say, thinking of Kasanoda.

"If I am gay, than I am gay, that is my business and my business alone. I have no idea how in the world that would be an insult, because some people I know who are interested in their own gender romantically are the kindest people I know," I say, thinking of Miyako.

"And if I am a man-whore, stupid and gay, I'll get more dick in a year than you'll get in your who~le life. All while being ugly."

"What at least I'm pretty! My name sends shivers down men's spines!" She exclaims, red in the face, "Well, of course you are pretty, and of course you send shivers down men's spines, you're probably named after that clown from Hunter x Hunter. He is pretty, pretty ugly," I say, winking at her.

"You need to stop being mean to people who have never talked to you," I say, looking her in the eye. "You hurt people's feelings to make yourself feel better, to fill the empty void of what you lack."

"Ugh! You're so rude!" She yells, running away from me and into the crowd, who part for her like the red sea.  
"Wow Araki, you are so cool!" A girl says, running up to me.

"Yeah, she always bullies us," A guy in glasses says, coming up to me.

"Hopefully she won't bother us anymore, since you seemed to confront her head on," says another girl, texting her friend.

"It was no biggie," I say, holding up my hand and smiling. "Where are you going?" The guy in glasses says.

"Oh, I'm going to the host club," I say, "I'm a new member there, and they're training me today."

"Do you mind if we request you when you work at the host club?" The girl next to me says.

"I don't mind at all, I'd love to have you as guests!" I say smiling, and the ladies swoon.

"I'm glad to know not all of the Host Club members lack backbone," says the guy in glasses, pushing them up his face.

"I gotta go see them, I'll see you all later!" I say, waving goodbye and walking away from the chatting crowd as I walk to the club room.

I push open the door, and roses pour down. I had my mouth open slightly, and a rose petal catches in my mouth. It goes down my throat, and I start coughing before I swallow. (insert lenny face here)

"Not the first time I ate rose petals," I mutter, looking at the Hosts infront of me.

"Welcome!" They say together, and I look around. "Why is there a hairstylist here?" I ask pointing at a hairstylist in the corner.

"She'll be cutting your hair, just a trim," The Hitachiin twins say, and I shrug.

I walk over, and she pulls my hair out of the pony tail, and trims it. It looked pretty good, I guess.

"The ponytail looked pretty good on you," she said, putting my hair back into the Cole-Sprouse style ponytail. "Thanks."

I feel a small hand grab my glasses off of my face, "Gotcha!" I hear Honey say, and I put my hands over my eyes.

"Guys, give those back, I can't see without them," I say, "No wonder you can't see, your hands are over your eyes!" The Hitachiins say, and I stick my tongue out at where the voice came from.

"Nao, move your hands please," Tamaki says, and I shake my head no.  
"Give. Me. My. Glasses. Now."

"Fine," Tamaki sighs, "Mori, you know what to do."  
"Mori, please don't..." I say hearing footsteps come closer. "I won't make you Blueberry pie, ever, if you do this to me."

His footsteps falter for a moment, but he continues to walk. I feel large hands grasp my cast and other hand, and lift them from my face. The world is really blurry, and I can see the outline of his face. "Wow! His jawline is really nice! With his hair back and no glasses, he's pretty handsome!" Tamaki says, and I close my eyes. My head was starting to hurt.

"Hey guys, give Nao his glasses or else his head might start to hurt," Haruhi says, but everyone ignores her.

I open my eyes, and see Tamaki in front of my face. I take a step back. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asks, holding up 3 blurry sausage-looking fingers. I smack his hand away, "I may wear glasses, but without them it doesn't freaking distort my vision, it makes it blurry.

"Nao, we found contact lenses in your bag," Hikaru says, and my eyes widen. "Yeah, why do you have clear contact lenses if you can't wear contact lenses?" Kaoru says, and I walk to the two blurry carrots, snatching my bag from them.

"My cousin and I were hanging out the other day, and she left them at my house," I lie, holding the bag close to my chest. "She left them when putting on her glasses."

"Fine, here's your glasses," they say, passing me my glasses. I snatch them out of their hands and put them on my face, and the world un-foggifies.

"Thanks," I say, relieved.

"Who's your cousin?" Kyoya begins, smirk on his face. He thinks I'm lying... Oh, um...

"Akemi Watanabe," I say, "she's a freshman in online college, though."

"Oh! Ake-chan! Takashi and I met her this weekend at the gym, she's really nice! She kinda looks like you..."

"Yeah, she's my cousin on my dad's side. We get considered twins a lot," I say, rambling, "but she dyed her hair bluey purple a while back."

"She sounds super cool! We should meet her sometime," Tamaki says, rambling on.  
"No, I need to protect my cousin from a pervy grandpa," I say, turning my back towards Tamaki.

I hear him walking to a corner, and I look at him as he starts to grow mushrooms. "Weirdo," I mutter, "So, what's the deal with the Club?" I ask, turning towards Kyoya.

" Well, you'll notice that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests. Just so you know, Tamaki is number one around here. He is the king, I guess you can say. His request rate is seventy percent."

"King, you say? King of the pervy grandpas," I say, and Tamaki turns his head 180 degrees and looks at me. "I'm not King of the Pervy Grandpas! I'm king of the host club!" He says, shaking his fist dramatically.

"Whatever..."

For 2 hours, 2 freaking hours, they showed me how to entertain ladies, and be a gentleman.

I left at 4:30, and walked home and went on my asked me for a list of allergies for Nao Araki and information on Akemi Watanabe, Figures...

I send him altered information, with the contact lense ingredient on the list, along with dust. I sent him the fake profile I made for Akemi Watanabe and family relations, including members of a random family that probably only exist online, and how Nao and Akemi are cousins.

I closed my laptop and sighed. Kyoya might start suspecting me, so I gotta stay on top with what I do to hide my identity.

END OF CHAPTER====

God I just realized I was spelling Kaoru wrong... I'll be writing it correctly in future chapters, so if you noticed my mistake notice it no longer! I'll start doing episodes apart of the fanfic, with my own twist and different out comes.


	5. Chapter 5: Vines and Roses SPECIAL

**Aghhhh- I was typing and 1,000 words just got deleted -_- Announcements!**

 **1- If you'd like to make a cover image for the story, feel free to PM me.**

 **2- Polls will close soon for who Nao should have as a love interest. It seems to only work for computer versions, so I'll also count reviews too.**

 **3-Suggest songs for the playlist "Vines and Roses-playlist" on youtube. These are the songs Akemi uses, and I'll feature some songs in the episodes. You can PM me the suggestions, or leave them as reviews :3**

 **4-Feel free to review my story overall too :0**

I fell asleep early that night, after completing my homework. The host club totally knocked me out.

I wake up at 5:30 in the morning, and I grab my phone, squinting at the bright screen.

I open up the messenger, and look at my contacts. I have only 6: Haruhi, Kasanoda, Miyako, the OG (brother Nao), Maaya, and the school's phone number, which I'd call incase I couldn't go to school.

I open up Kasanoda's contact, and send him a text.

**text message**

Nao- Hey Kasanoda, good luck on the test today! I know you'll do great :D

I also text my brother and Maaya in a group convo, and tell them how I got a job under another fake identity. My brother texted me back immediately, telling me it was 11:00 o' clock his time and I woke him up. Snickering, I put on my 'man makeup', throwing my hair into a ponytail. I put on khaki pants, with a big navy blue sweatshirt and converse. I walk out the door at 6:00 with an apple, I'm getting faster at putting on makeup :D. I get to the school at 6:30, and work on hacking jobs in class 1-A. I quickly finish, they were all pretty easy.

I look at the clock on the wall, it's only 7:00. "I'm so boooooooored," I say, hitting my head against the table. "I can read a book, but I already read the reading lists for grades 1-3..." I mutter, and I go onto the Ouran website. They have an AP lit class, but it's all English books... EH, it's something I can do.

I put my computer in my messenger bag, and I walk to the headmaster's office. I knock on the door, and I hear a muffled "Come in."

I turn the door knob, and I walk inside. "Hello Mr. Suoh," I say, with a slight head nod of respect.

"Hello Araki, please sit," He says, and I oblige. "What do you want to talk about?" He asks.

"I want to do the AP Lit (the class is lit af) class," I say, and he nods.  
"Why? I can always put you in grade 2 or 3 for the lit class," he says, and I shake my head no.

"Those are too easy, I already read the books for all those classes," I say, and he nods. "Your grades are excellent, I can just move you up a grade to make it simpler," he says, and I shake my head no.

"I like the classes sir, but I just happen to excel at math and reading. I want a normal, high school experience."

"Alright than, but you do know that all the books are in English, correct?" He says, and I nod.

"I am fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish," I say.

"Alright than," he says, "the class is pretty small, so you'll only meet every other day during the class 1-A lit class. During the days you have off, you can have a free study hall period or you can take an art class."

"I'll do the art class, please."  
"I should let you know, it's a mostly female class with only 2 other boys, is that alright with you?" He asks, and I nod.

"I get along well with both genders, so it doesn't bother me," I say. Well, I am kind of both genders, I am Kako, yet Nao, and also Akemi. It's all so confusing...

"Okay, I can plug you into the system," he says, typing on his computer. "You have art classes Tuesday and Thursday, while the Lit class is Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can start today."

"Great," I say, and he passes me 3 notes. "Give the corresponding notes to the teachers, the third one is the location. I just emailed your current literary teacher that you will be switching."

"Thank you sir," I say, bowing my head respectfully.

"I heard about your fall, I'm sorry to hear about that," he says, looking at my cast.  
"Thanks," I say, not knowing how to respond. "I'm also thankful for how the scholarship covers insurance on injuries," I say and he nods.

"It's a shame you couldn't be on the swim team," no, I'm thankful I'm not on the swim team...

"But I am glad you joined the Host Club, my son told me how he thinks you'll do wonderful there."

Damn that Tamaki...

"Thank you," I say, standing up.

"It's 7:45, I have to return to class soon. Thank you for your time," I say thank you again, and he smiles.

"You are a good student Nao Araki, if you continue to do this well you may obtain special privileges." I nod, and leave the room. How was I even supposed to respond to that?

I arrived to class at 7:55, and I tell Haruhi what happened and she congratulated me. The twins, who actually arrived on time for once, rolled their eyes. "We get it," Hikaru says. "You're smart, but that's not a good enough reason to go to different classes," Kaoru finishes.

"A flower does not think of the flower next to it, it just blooms," I say, looking them both in the eyes. "What does that mean?" They chorus, and I just smirk and turn around. They will have a different definition of what I said, of course, but I was simply talking about jealousy. They might take it literally.

===time skip to lunch because I don't know what to write===

Haruhi and I walked to lunch, and we sat where we usually sit. She was telling me about this book she read, when I feel a hand tap my shoulder. I turn around, and see Kyoya.

"Hello Kyoya-senpai," I say. I didn't trust him, and he might get pissy if I don't respect him.  
"Hello Nao-kun," he replies, also using honorifics. "I heard you got into the AP Literary class."  
"Where did you hear that from?" I ask, respectfully.

"I'm in the class, and was emailed from the teacher that a new student would be joining us. I automatically assumed it would be you, since you seem to enjoy being in advanced classes," he says with a slight smirk, and I nod.

"I actually do enjoy being in advanced classes, it's more of a challenge," I say, and his smirk fades. "'Work hard on silence, let success make the noise.' Thank you for noticing, senpai." I say, bowing my head slightly, and turning around back to Haruhi. Soon, the whole table arrived, and started talking about themes.

"Nao-chan, do you have any idea what we should do for a theme?" Honey asks, and I think for a moment.

"How about..." I trail off, "we do a special event, not related to Hosting?" I say, and they all look at me in shock.

"We are a host club, but what is your idea Nao-kun?" Kyoya asks, pen in hand with his black book, smirk on face.

"We put on a play," I say, and they all go silent.

"What a marvelous idea my son!" Tamaki says, and I'm too lazy to correct him.

"We could raise more revenue, and a play is open to everyone. Boys who don't visit the club might come for the event, and that could generate more cash flow..." Kyoya says, writing in his book.

"That's a great idea Nao-chan!" Honey says, "But what kind of play should we have?" Kyoya asks, and I think.

"Rumplestilsken." Mori says.

"The three little pigs!" Honey says.

"Alice in Wonderland?" Haruhi says.

"The Tales of Edgar Allen Poe," Kyoya says.

"Jack and the Beanstalk!" Tamaki says.

"Rapunzel!" The twins say, and I think.

"How about Cinderella?" I say, and they think.

"It would be funny to see us in dresses, and the girls would get a treat out of it. We have enough people," I say, and they nod.

"Well, Haruhi could be Cinderella," Tamaki says, "and I'll be the Prince!"

"No way Tamaki, I'd be prince," says Hikaru.

"Guys calm down, we can pick lots," I say nervously, and they all nod.  
"So we are doing Cinderella?" Honey asks, and I shrug.

"I guess," Haruhi says. "Nao-kun, can you meet after school in the Host room?"

"Sure," I say, sighing. I'll have to tell Miyako I can only work Friday through Sunday this week, which will cover all three days.

After lunch, I go to Advanced Algebra, and after that I head to the art room.

"Welcome Mr. Araki," says the teacher, "you can go sit at the table at the back." I nod, passing her the note from the principal and I head to the table.

There is 2 other people at the table, one of them is in a dark cloak, and the other is...  
"Ritsu?" I ask, and he looks up at me. He is wearing his hair in the style of the ponytail I showed him how to do.

"Oh, hi Ara-Nao," he says, correcting himself. "You're taking art?"

"Yeah, I changed classes so art was open," I say, and he nods.

"This is Nekozawa-senpai," he says, pointing to the guy in the black coat.

"Hi Nekozawa," I say, looking under the hood. I see a handsome, pale face with a black wig and black contacts.

"Call me Umehito," he says, and I nod. "Call me Nao than, and if I may ask, why wear the cloak?"

"Fear of the sun," Ritsu says, and I nod. "I'm in class 3-B, you must be in 1-A. Kasanoda always talks about how cool you are and how you help-" He is cut off when Ritsu covers his mouth. Awww, Ritsu thinks I'm cool.

Class started, and all we had to do was draw a creature riding something. It had to be an original idea, so I drew a monster riding a tricycle. I turned in my work, and I looked at Ritsu and Umehito's work...

Ritsu drew a bird on top of an airplane and Umehito drew a cat driving a car...

"Oh shit," I mutter. Oh well, can't help it now.

Class ended for the day, and I walked to the host club room.

"So," I say, seeing everyone there. "How are we going to pick characters?"  
"We are drawing lots," Haruhi says, "I wrote a character name on the end of a stick, and we are going to see who get's who."

"Ok!" I say, walking over to Haruhi. She holds up a can with sticks in it.  
"Everyone ready to pick?" She asks, and we nod, drawing a stick.

"Oh come on!" Hikaru begins, and Tamaki fist pumps. "I'm the Prince!" Tamaki says, and I look at my stick.

"I'm Cinderella, Haruhi, want to trade?" I ask, and she looks at her stick.

"No trades," Kyoya says, and I sweatdrop. I'll have to work on hiding my chest in a dress, this will be hard...  
"Takashi, what role are you?" Honey asks Mori.

"Various," he says.

++++++++++++++Two weeks later++++++++++++++++

AP lit class was easy enough, and the next thing I know we are getting ready to perform Cinderella. We reserved the biggest theater in the school, and it was packed. We sold tickets for 2,050 yen (around 20 dollars), which is a lot of money for tickets, but people willingly paid it. The theater can hold up to 3,000 people, and it was sold out. That's about...6,078,900.00 yen (60,000 dollars)! I see Kasanoda walking by, and I wave to him.

"Ritsu! Can you do me a favor please?" I ask, and he shrugs. "Sure, I owe you one since I got a B+ on my test," he says. I pass him the script. "You have a nice voice for narrating, can you sit up in that box room," I say, pointing up to a room by the stage that has glass windows, "and narrate the story as it goes on?" He nods, and takes the script and leaves. I sigh, that was easier than expected.

I had picked out costumes, and I wear a long sleeve to let me use a binder easily. I had used just ace bandages, and I got fake sticky boobs and put on a real bra, and put the sticky boobs in. I put on the first Cinderella costume, and I head to the wings of the stage. I wear a long, brown wig that is curly.

"Are you ready Nao?" Haruhi asks, and I nod.

The curtains are closed, and we head to our spaces.

I sit down on the floor by a bed, and wait for the curtain to rise. When it does, I scan the audience, it's 75% girls and 20% guys, 5% teachers and workers from the school.

"Father, please get better soon!" I say, looking at Haruhi, laying in bed with a fake mustache on. In the corner, Mori is in a tree suit and inside a plant. He's holding a leaf in each hand... He's supposed to be a potted plant tree.

"Cough cough," Haruhi says robotically, not making an effort to cough.

"My beloved daughter, I cannot go on any longer," Haruhi says, looking me in the eyes, and I try not to laugh. "When I go on, I want you to get along with your step-sisters."

"Yes father, please don't go!" I say, and Haruhi raises her hand, than it falls.

"Dead," she says, turning her head to the side and closing her eyes. I don't think she was supposed to say that...  
"No! Father!"I say, putting my head on the bed.

" _Having lost her beloved father, the young girl was left with two step sisters_ ," Ritsu says from the narrator's box.

" _These two girls, Kyoyina and Kaorina, treated the young girl horribly and like a slave. They were her ugly step-sisters._ " The light shone on Kaoru and Kyoya. Kyoya is with a huge black beehive for hair, librarian glasses, and a black dress. Kaoru is wearing a orange beehive and a bright pink dress.

"Hey! We aren't ugly!" Kaoru says, sticking his tongue out and the audience chuckles slightly.

On the wings, Haruhi sits there. "I'm done, so I'm gonna go to the narrator's box and give the narrator something to drink."

As she walks to the narrator's box through the secret entrance, the play continues."Cinderella, are you cleaning properly?" Kyoya asks, and I nod. "Yes Kyoyina," I say, sweeping the floor with a broom. I now wore a tattered dress with an apron, and no shoes. My hair is tied back, with a white bandana across it.

"You better be, and it's Kyoyina-sama to you," Kyoya says, writing in a dark purple notebook with a feather pen. The audience chuckles.

" _Covered in ashes, the once Ella was nicknamed Cinderella. Cinderella was over worked by her family, and did all the servant duties_ " Ritsu says.

"Cinderella," Kaoru says, "you aren't going to the castle ball this evening?"

"No, I can't. There's too much work to do," I say.

"Brother... I mean sister Kaorina," Hikaru says, "she doesn't even have a dress."

"You're right Kyoyina, all she has are filthy rags," Kaouru says, writing in his notebook.

"Get the house sparkling clean!" They say together, and they leave the stage.

I fall to the floor, and groan slightly.

" _And thus, the step family of Cinderella made Cinderella stay home from the ball, all alone_ ," Ritsu says, and the audience is silent.

"Ah, I wish I could have attended the ball at the castle tonight," I say, as the light shines on me and me alone. The set changes slightly behind me, and I put my head in my hands and pretend to weep.

"Aww, poor Nao!" I hear a voice cry from the audience, and everyone shushes them.

"If I was at the ball, I think I would have a grand time. Don't you think so too, Mr. Mouse?" I say, and Mori crawls up next to me in a mouse suit.

"Squeak," he says, voice deep.

"The lonely Cinderella, spoke to her only friend, a mouse," Ritsu says, voice unwavering.

Off stage, Hikaru and Kaoru stand next to eachother. "Don't you think Mori-senpai is a bit big for a mouse?" Kaoru asks, and Hikaru nods.

" _Suddenly,_ " Ritsu says...

"Cinderella-chan, Cinderella-chan, Cinderella-chan," A small voice says.

"Who goes there?" I ask, and I turn around and see Honey being lowered to the ground by ropes. He is wearing a sparkly cloak, and has a wand with a bunny on the end of it. The audience says 'awww', and some squeal.

"I will grant your wish Cinderella-chan with my Usa-chan magic!" He says, smiling.

"Who are you?" I ask, and Honey sparkles.

"I am your Fairy Godmother!" He says, waving his wand around.

" _Taking pity on Cinderella, there appeared her-hey, what are you doing?_ " Ritsu says, cutting off from the script. I look up at the box, and see Ritsu holding up the script squinting.

Inside the box, Haruhi was trying to get Ritsu some tea, and she tripped over the power chord and spilt tea all over the script. The words bled together, and Ritsu could no longer look at the script.

"Sorry! Haruhi says, before running off and trying to find a replacement script.

"UH," Ritsu says, before going close to the mic again. _"Taking pity on the poor Cinderella, the flying dwarf dressed in a sparkling cloak thingie appeared."_

"Huh?" I ask, and I look at Honey.

"Um, y-yes, it is I, the flying dwarf!" Honey says cutely, improvising, "I shall take you to the ball with my magic Usa-chan wand!"  
Honey bops me on the head with the wand, and the stage goes black for a moment.

Than, the stage regains light, and I am wearing a light purple, long sleeve dress with glass slippers. My wig is curled and put in a bun, and the tips of my shoes have little glass bunnies on the tips. I have white gloves, laced onto my hands, and a pearl choker around my neck. The audience 'awwhhed' at my sudden transformation.

Off stage, all the guys (and Haruhi) look at Nao strangely. "H-he looks pretty cute in a dress," Kyoya says, and they all nod.

On stage, I do a little twirl. "Wow, this is so cool!" I say, looking myself up and down. Mori was now in a horse suit.

 _"The little dwarf's power most conveniently gave Cinderella pointless, gaudy clothes and impractical, bunny on the end, glass shoes," Ritsu says bluntly._

"You can go to the ball now, yay!" Honey says, "But my Usa-chan magic only lasts to midnight, because that's my bed time, so go have fun!" Honey is than risen off the stage by the ropes.

Off stage, Kyoya is looking at the script. "This is not in the script, but it is more interesting," he says, and Tamaki nods.

Haruhi is dressed for her second role, and is ready to go on stage.

"At the ball, Cinderella is unrecognized by her ignorant sisters, and dances with the prince." Tamaki and I waltz across the stage, and a clock dings.

"I must go!" I say, running down the stairs and into the audience. "Wait, don't go!" Tamaki says, but I keep running and stumble slightly.  
I leave one shoe behind, and keep running until I'm out of the auditorium doors, and I head through a secret entrance to the stage wings again.

"Please!" Tamaki says, "We are meant to be together," he says, and starts to run to the doors when he is stopped by his father, Haruhi. He picks up my shoe and looks at it. "Will I ever see her again?"

 _"Holding the impractical shoe that somehow wasn't broken, the idiot prince cried pitifully about a girl he just met."_

Haruhi is wearing a king's suit, and she deepens her voice comically. "Do you love her?" I smirk from the side of the stage. I'm wearing my maid costume again, and I'm holding my broom. "Wow, Ritsu is on a roll," I say to Kyoya and he nods.

"Yes, I do," he says, and the King Haruhi nods. "Go find her than, with your trusty servant Hikaru!"

 _"With a highly idiotic plan based off of a shoe, the idiotic Prince and his carrot head servant Hikaru set off."_

The set changes again, and Mori is back in his potted plant suit, holding a leaf in each hand.

"When I put the shoe on the girl, we will be married, and she will be princess." Tamaki says, holding up a shoe, and passing it to Hikaru.

 _"The idiotic prince believed that the girl who fit the slipper perfectly would be his wife, even though millions of people could have the same shoe size. It's not like he remembered her face and could recognize her, but he would somehow be able to marry a girl who fit a shoe."_

"I'll go first," Kaoru says, and sits in a chair. Hikaru walks up to Kaoru, and tries to fit the shoe on. "The foot is too big," Hikaru says.

Kyoya goes next, and Hikaru says the same thing.

"Well, that is everyone, now move along before I call my private police force," says Kyoya.

"What about the servant girl?" Hikaru asks, "No, our servant would't have attended the ball," Kaoru says, and Kyoya nods.

"Let's do it anyway, come forward servant girl," Hikaru says, and I sit down.

He slips the shoe on my foot, and it fits.

"You're the girl I danced with last night," Tamaki says, and I nod.

"Let us get married!" He says, and I force a smile and nod.

"Wait, just, one, moment."

We turn around and see Hikaru standing there.

"Hikaru, what are you doing, this isn't on script," Kaoru says.

"The Idiotic Prince says one the shoe is put on the girl, she will become princess, correct?" Hikaru says, and Tamaki nods.

"Well, I put the shoe on the girl, and she is princess now, and if I marry her I'll be a prince!" Hikaru says, and Tamaki looks shocked. 

"Oh, um," I say, and I take off the shoe. "I'll pass on being a princess and marrying the idiotic prince," I say, and the audience gasps.

"Why? We had a wonderful time last night?" Tamaki asks, and I nod. "We did have a wonderful time, but you didn't even bother remembering what I look like, all you seemed to remember was what I was wearing. You wouldn't have spared me a second glance if I wasn't wearing grand clothing," I say, and I take the shoe and give it to Kyoya.

"I don't need a superficial person like that in my life, heck, you didn't even recognize me when I was in the same room as you!" I say, and I sigh.

" _Cinderella showed people that there is more worth to a person than by what they wear or looked like. All that glitters is not gold, and the Prince became less shallow. The step sisters became kinder to Cinderella, and peace returned to the kingdom. The end."_

The audience was silent, before loudly applauding. We all sweatdropped, before bowing and the curtains closed. Kyoya smacked Hikaru on the head with his dark purple notebook.

No one in the Host Club suspected that Nao was a girl, because they all thought 'he has balls to perform a stunt like that'.

Ritsu was thanked by the Host Club, but they forgot him quickly, except by Haruhi and Nao.

Ritsu also thought that Nao looked pretty hot as a girl.

Umehito watched the performance and wished there were more cats in the performance, but he liked it well enough.

All was well in the host club, and they were tighter than ever.

The End of Chapter=====

 **That was a fun chapter to write, it was nothing significant in the storyline. This happens before the ball episode, and I wrote it to strengthen the friendliness between the hosts that you'll see later, and to also introduce Umehito into the storyline.**

 **Though fun, it was a hard chapter to write personalities into. The reason Hikaru did what he did was for attention, because he got separated from his brother**

 **I'll start putting in soon :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Vines and Roses

The last chapter was something I wrote for fun, and the idea for the Cinderella play came from Kamigami no Asobi, it's a really good anime on crunchyroll, so go check it out :3 I've been working on ANOTHER fanfiction for a different anime, and I'll give you all a hint, and I'll reveal the answer at the end of the chapter, so you have time to figure out what it is :D Hint: Pervert clown likes 2 little boys who are taking a test that is really hard. OK! Now, for la story

Over the last couple weeks with the play going on, I've only been able to work the weekends, which is fine. Miyako says that I don't have to work Tuesdays or Thursdays at all, so now I'm a 'full fledged host member', or at least that's what Tamaki says. But, I can work whenever I feel, which is awesome so I'm working tonight, AKA Thursday.

In art class, Ritsu and Umehito are my baes, and we call ourselves the 'Odd Squad' as a joke. I mean, we are a funny group of people. A tsundere yakuza boss, a black magic cat obsessed nerd, and the nerd scholarship student (who is also a crossdresser).

After school, I quickly dress as Akemi and head to the bar in an Uber, and I get a call on my phone. I took off my cast, per usual, and put on a faux black leather jacket with a light pink skater dress. My contacts are in, and my hair is in beach waves. For shoes, I had these black boots that heels on them, I felt pretty bad ass overall.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Nao Araki?" An annoying, familiar voice says. "Is this Tamaki? How did you get my phone number?" I ask, rolling my eyes.  
"That's not important, but since the Host Club is closed today, and we finished preparations early, all the guys are heading out for a guy's night out. It'll be bonding time for us all!"

"What do you mean by bonding time?" I ask with a sigh, I might not be able to work tonight at all if so.

"We're heading to an opera," he says, and I snicker. "What's the problem with that?"

"Listen, if you want to have bonding time, go do something fun. Go to a club-"

"Country club?"

"Nevermind, just do something you haven't done before, something that allows you to talk with others and have a fun time. Don't go to a fancy dinner or something like that, just let loose. If it helps, do something I'd do for fun."

"Like commoner activities?" I let out a sigh. "Don't refer to people not as rich as you as commoners, we all can't be rich."

"Hi Nao-kun!" I hear Honey call out in the background. "Are you coming?"

"I can't, I have more important things to do than sit around a boring opera. Remember what I said Tamaki, bye-bye."

I hit click on the phone, and put him on silent incase he tries to call to me.

"We're here m'am," the Uber driver says, and I nod. "Thanks," I say, getting out and walking inside.

It looks the same as it always does at 4:00, empty-ish and brighter.

"Hey Miyako-ooooo," I say, looking at the bar and seeing a redhead there instead.

"Sorry, Miyako can't come today so I'm filling in. Abby," she says with an American accent, sticking her hand out.

"Oh, you must be her girlfriend, right?" I ask, and she nods. "I'm Miyako," I say, shaking her hand. "If you want, I can speak English."

"Really? I usually don't speak in English and I'm afraid I'll forget the language, knowing the goldfish I am," she says in English with a slight chuckle.

"Don't worry, I need the practice," I respond back with a wink. "I'm going to put the stuff in the backroom and get ready."

She nods, and I walk to the backroom and check my phone one last time. There's a text from Tamaki.

Tamaki: Thanks for the advice, we decided to not go to the opera and we are going to see a movie (at the movie theater, who knew commoner popcorn could be so good?). The movie will be gr8, and we're all having a good time.

Nao: That's great to hear, c u tomorrow.

I close my phone, and head to the stage to start a set.

~TIME SKIPAROO *don't forget to favorite, review and give me all your money so I can buy killer whales to start an assassination business using killer whales*

It's now 8:45, and I was taking a break at my own booth. I was tired, and had 3 hours and 15 minutes left before I was done with my shift.

The bar was not full yet, and had a couple empty tables left. Mostly college kids and young adults, and I sighed in relief, they would tip well if I don't suck.

The door chimed, and I look toward it as a big group came in, looking for a booth. They looked oddly familiar... I don't think the minor is allowed in a bar-

That's not a minor, that's Honey. And the Host Club. I quickly turned back around, doing the math in my head. The bar only serves those underage non-alcoholic drinks and appetizers (the bar only serves appetizers and drinks) until 10:00 when the bar closes, and it's only 8:45, and I start singing again at 8:50...

Friggin' chicken nuggers.

"Hello? Excuse me, miss," I hear a voice say from behind me, and I turn around and stand up. There's the baka Tamaki.

"What."

He sweatdrops, before putting on his princely smile, roses appearing behind him. "My friends and I just came, and there's not enough room at the table, can we have your booth?"

"No."

His face get's closer to mine, and it's making me really uncomfortable. He lightly puts his hands on my waist, "How about I buy you a drink?"

I push him off me quickly, and take a step back. "Stop."

"I can get your number and take you out to dinner sometime if you let me have the booth," He says, smile on face.

I shake my head, and look at the clock on the wall.

"Whatever, thanks for wasting my time," I say, walking to the bar. I look out of the corner of my eye, and see him fist pump into the air. The bar is now completely full, and I smirk.

"Hey, do you think Miyako would be fine if I sing a different song from the set?" I ask, and Abby shrugs. "Miyako wouldn't care as long as it doesn't suck."

"Can I borrow your phone for a karaoke?" I ask, and she nods and passes me her iPhone. I quickly find what I want on youtube, and nod towards her.

"Thanks! I'll give it back to you ASAP," I say, and walk to the stage where I get some applause from regulars.

"Hey everyone, let's have a great night!" I say, before hitting the button on the speaker plugged into Abby's phone.

 _"La la la la la la la_  
 _La la la la la la la!"_ I sing, swaying my hips side to side, getting curious glances from non-regulars around the room, including the host club.

 _"Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like?_  
 _I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right,"_ I say, looking left and right on que, seeing Tamaki and his goons looking at me.

 _"I don't want to be a priss, I'm just try'na be polite_  
 _But it always seems to bite me in the..."_ I do a quick drop squat to the floor, before standing up quickly, getting a few whoops.

 _"Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot_  
 _You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not,_ " I say, winking towards the Host Club table.

-at the table: "Why did she wink at us?" Kyoya mutters, and the twins shrug. Tamaki is nervously biting his nails, he's on the edge of the booth.

 _"You had me at "Hello", then you opened up your mouth_  
 _And that is when it started going south_  
 _Oh!"_

 _"Get your hands off my hips, 'fore I'll punch you in the lips,"_ I sing, jumping off the stage as people clap to the beat, strutting towards the Host Club's table.  
 _"Stop your staring at my... Hey!"_ I quickly turn around, looking over my shoulder at their shocked expressions.  
 _"Take a hint, take a hint!"_ I say, bending over slightly so my head is level with Tamaki's, ruffling his hair slightly.  
 _"No you can't buy me a drink, let me tell you what I think_  
 _I think you could use a mint,_ " I sing, getting close to Tamaki and waving my hand in front of my nose.  
 _"Take a hint, take a hint!"_ I back up, turning around, and walking off.  
 _"T-take a hint, take a hint!"_ I strut towards a free barstool, and sit down, facing the audience clapping to the beat, some laughing at the Host Club, or laughing at how ridiculous I look. I hope it's the former.

 _"I guess you still don't get it, so let's take it from the top_  
 _You asked me what my sign is, and I told you it was 'STOP'",_ I say, looking Tamaki dead in the eye from across the room. He deserves this for being a fuckboy. I see the twins laughing, Honey looking confused, Mori being Mori, and Kyoya with smirk on face, writing in his death note book. Tamaki's jaw has dropped so far, I think it's drilling for gas by now.

"A _nd if I had a dime for every name that you just dropped_  
 _You'd be here and I'd be on a yacht_  
 _Oh!"_ I stand up from the bar, and walk to a nerdy looking guy in the center of the bar, smiling teasingly at him and winking.

 _[Both:]_  
 _"Get your hands off my hips, 'fore I'll punch you in the lips_  
 _Stop your staring at my... Hey!"_ On the 'Hey', I turn around and do a fist pump. Almost the whole bar is clapping and standing u[, except Tamaki. Kyoya's clap looks more like a sarcastic death villain clap though.

 _"Take a hint, take a hint_  
 _No you can't buy me a drink, let me tell you what I think_  
 _I think you could use a mint,"_ I walk away, and the nerd jumps up and starts clapping.  
 _"Take a hint, take a hint_  
 _La, la, la..._  
 _T-take a hint, take a hint_  
 _La, la, la..."_ I walk back over to Tamaki's table.

 _"What about 'NO' don't you get?_  
 _So go and tell your friends!"_ I sing, resting both of my elbows on the table, smiling cheekily to the other boys at the table, waggling my free hand's fingers at them.  
 _"I'm not really interested_  
 _It's about time that you're leavin'_  
 _I'm gonna count to three and_  
 _Open my eyes and_  
 _You'll be gone!"_ I sing, looking at Tamaki before backing away from the table.

 _"One,"_ He stands up, and starts walking to the door.  
 _"Get your hands off my..."_ I follow him, heels clicking on floor.  
 _"Two._ _Or I'll punch you in the..."_ I walk ahead of him, opening up the door. He looks at me, cheeks flushed red.  
 _"Three."_ He steps out the door.  
 _"Stop your staring at my... Hey!_  
 _Take a hint, take a hint!"_ On the word 'Hey!' I slam the door closed behind him, and the audience cheers.

 _"I am not your missing link_  
 _Let me tell you what I think_  
 _I think you could use a mint_  
 _Take a hint, take a hint_  
 _Take a hint, take a hint_  
 _Woah!"_ I sing, before strutting back to the stage, facing the audience at the final chord. They go wild, and people are applauding me louder than before, and almost everyone gives me tips and congratulates me on ridding the bar of a fuckboy.

I smile widely, and start my next song, and before I knew it, it was 9:45 and my voice was really hoarse.

I collect my tips, and head to the back room and get my purse and phone. I walk back out to the front, and see that the Host Club is all there, except now there's Tamaki with fake glasses and a brown wig.

"Hey Abby, my voice really hurts so I'm heading out early," I say in English, and she nods. "Have a good night!" She responds, and I nod, before walking out the door.

I check my phone, seeing that it's dead and I sigh in frustration. I'll have to walk home!

I head to the direction of my house, and hear a car pull up to me on the street, and I start walking faster.

"Hey, wait up Akemi!" I hear Honey say, and I turn and see Honey's head poking out of the limo.

"Hi Honey!" I say, walking towards the limo. "How are you?"

"Good, you sing really well! I was at the bar tonight, you saw me right?" He asks, and I scratch the back of my neck.

"Hehe, yeah I did, sorry I didn't say hi, I work there as a singer," I say, and he nods. "Well, do you need a ride home?" He asks, "it can be pretty scary at night."

"Uh," I say, the area that surrounds my house can be kinda sketchy at night, I'll just give him a block away from my house.

"Sure! Thanks," I say, and he opens the door to the limo and I sit inside.

"Why is the limo so dark?" I ask, and the light turns on and I see I'm sitting next to the blonde idiot, with Honey across from me with Mori by his side. (It's like the lunch table, minus Haruhi)

I sigh, "Hi Hubby," I say, waving to him, ignoring Tamaki next to me, who it feels like he's glaring holes into my head. "How are you?" "Good, you?" He says gruffly, nodding his head to acknowledge me.

"HUBBY?! MORI WE DIDN'T KNOW YOU'RE MARRIED!" Screeched Tamaki next to me, and I cover my ears. "Please don't talk in all caps, it's really annoying."

"Sorry," he mutters, as he hugs his knees to his chest. "We can't take you home until you guys make up," Honey says, crossing his arms. I sigh, and give him puppy dog eyes, "Do I have to, please Adolf?" I say, and he looks away.

"Don't do that to me," he mutters. "Fine, since I'm here please introduce yourselves to me so I don't have to call you by your hair colors," I say, looking at the rest of them.

"I'm Hikaru," Hikaru says, "and I'm Kaoru!"

"You seem to be pretty spunky," they say together. "Why thank you," I say, and look towards Kyoya.

"Kyoya Ootari," he says, pushing up his glasses. "Nice to meet you Kyoya," I say smiling, and I look towards the blonde fuckboy next to me.

"And the guy who came onto me when I tried to get away, what's his name," I say flatly, and the twins giggle into their hands. "Tamaki Suoh, I'm sorry for coming onto you," he mutters.

"What was that? I can't hear you," I say, smirk on face.

"Tamaki Suoh, I'm sorry for coming onto you," he says louder.

"It's kinda natural for him to do that," the twins say together, "please don't take offense, he's just a big baka."

"Hey! I heard that!" Tamaki says angrily, turning towards the laughing twins.

"Well, I forgive you, mainly because I earned a lot of tips tonight," I say. "Akemi Watanabe to everyone who doesn't know me, or wifey to Mori. Momma of baby Adolf."

"You look really young to have children," Tamaki says, and I laugh. "Inside joke between Mori, Honey and I." Honey looks over at me and winks, and I wink back.

"By any chance," Kyoya says, "are you related to Nao Araki?"

"Yup," I say, popping the 'p'. "We're cousins, but I'm a few years older, I'm a frosh in online college."

"I see," Kyoya says, writing in his notebook, before closing it. "Where do you live?"

I give him my address, and he relays it to the driver, and the car starts moving.

I talk with Honey and Mori for a while, with the twins occasionally butting in with a joke, making us all laugh. Kyoya is reading and Tamaki seems to be watching me from the corner of his eye, as he looks at his phone.

"We're here, Miss Watanabe," the driver says, opening the door.

"I hope the next time I see you all, it's under good circumstances. See you all later, and thank you for the ride!" I say, grabbing my purse and walking out of the car.

"Bye Ake-chan!" Honey says. "Bye wifey," Mori says with a nod, and I grin. He used the joke!

"Bye Akemi~" the twins say with a grin, and they start whispering to eachother. "Farewell Akemi," Kyoya says, and Tamaki pouts and looks away. "Bye," he says, and the driver closes the door, entering his driver's seat before driving off.

I quickly walk home a couple blocks, and I immediately wash the makeup off my face. I take some medicine, and make a home made brew to make my voice less hoarse, before I go to sleep.

========TIME SKIP==================

Today was Friday, looking like Nao, I was currently sitting in my last class of the day, AP was 4 students in total, Kyoya, two third year nerds, and I.

We worked in a small, off room in the library, and it was mostly us reading books written in English, than we had to discuss the plot and write a paragraph summarizing what we discussed. Easiest college credit ever, right?

"Now," the teacher says, "we will have a project where you will re-enact a scene from the book with your partner. You can pick partners."

"Nao," Kyoya says, deciding to use my name. "Wish to partner with me?"  
I really don't, but there's not many options. "Sure," I say, and he nods.

The scene we started to work on re-enacting was a murder discovery scene, and we wrote the script.  
The final bell rings as we finish up, and we walk to the host club together.

"By the way," Kyoya says, "The ball is tonight, and you need to attend."

I roll my eyes, "Kyoya, we already talked about this, I'd join under the condition that I wouldn't have to attend..."

"Well, you're more popular than ever since the play, so you must attend," he says, adjusting his glasses.

"I want time and a half," I say, and he nods, smirking. "Your Ouran uniform has arrived today, go put it on." He says, "The uniform is in the dressing room. Also, stay after the Host Club when it's over, so we all can prepare for the ball."

"Sweet! Be right back," I say, and practically run to the dressing room. I had to wait a couple weeks, since the school and the Host Club didn't have any extra uniforms.

I lock the dressing room door, and take off my pants, putting on the black dress pants.

I take off my lumpy sweater, and look in the mirror. My white undershirt shouldn't show through... I see the faded pink scar on my chest, and lightly trace it. I remember how I got this...

Shaking my head, I return to the task at hand. I adjusted my sport bra slightly, before sliding on the white collared shirt, and putting my long black necktie on. I look in the mirror, and I don't see my tank top/sport bra/bandages showing through... good. I put on the carolina blue coat/vest, and I button that up from the bottom. I fix my collar, and put my hair in a ponytail.

I look hot, slim and sexy as a guy.

I put my clothes into my messenger bag, and walk outside the dressing room stall, and out of the dressing room.

"Woahh! Nao-kun!" I hear a voice say, and I see Honey bounding towards me.

"Hey Honey," I say, ruffling his hair. "How are you?"

"Good! You look great in the Ouran uniform!"

"Thanks Honey," I say, smiling.

"Can you hold Usa-chan for me really quickly? I gotta get some more cake from the kitchenette," Honey says, holding up Usa-chan.

"Sure," I say, and he hands me the rabbit. I tuck it under my arm, and Honey looks at how I held the rabbit.

"I guess I was wrong," he mutters, before walking to the kitchen and picking up a giant cake. What was that about?

"Thanks Nao-kun! You can put that on my table," he says, and I nod. I briskly walk over to the table, and set the rabbit down next to where Honey usually sits.

"Hey Nao!" Haruhi says from behind me, and I turn around and wave at her. "Hey Haruhi! How are you?" I ask, and she smiles. "Good, what about you?"

"Good," I remember suddenly how Kyoya said I have to attend the ball today.

"I'll be right back," I say, and I walk to the corner of the Host room where no one dwells, and speed dial Miyako.

"Hey Akemi, what's up," she says, and I sigh. "Hey Miyako, something's come up and I can't come on Friday, should I work sometime this week to make it up or a day extra or..."

"No, no don't worry about it," she says, laughing nervously. "I need a favor."

No wonder she was being so generous... "What do you need," I say.

"I need you to cosplay for me," she says, and I gag.

"Cosplay as what?"

"Err... a 1950's performer. I met with this really rich guy and told him I have a really good performer, and he wants you to do a 1950's theme. I'll pay you for doing it," she says, and I roll my eyes.

"Sure thing, who's it for," I say, and I hear her squeal in joy on the other end.  
"Some group called a Host Club," she says and I sweat drop.

"Frig juice, I have relations with them already," I say, and she laughs nervously.

"Fine, I'll let you take a week off with pay for 3 days."

"I'll do it," I say, a week off is a week off after all.

"Great, it's next week Wednesday. Good luck!" She says, before she hangs up.

"Looking fresh Nao," say the Hitachiin twins, walking up to me.

"Thanks," I say, "I have clients now. Bye-bye."

Walking briskly away from the devils, I sit at my table by the window, and talk to the girls.

"So Nao, do you have a type yet?" A blonde girl says, while her friend giggles.

"What do you mean by type?" I say, "Well," Tamaki says, popping out from behind the couch.

"What are you doing?" I ask, but he ignores me. "There's different types in the host club."  
"Mori, strong and silent. Honey, the little boy lolita. Kyoya, the cool type. Haruhi, the natural type, the twins, the little devil twincest type,"  
"I don't doubt that last part," I mutter, as I look over at the twins in their twincest act.

"And me, the king of the Host Club, the princely type. But, you're personality is sweet, funny, caring and loving..."

"He can be the older or younger brother type," Kyoya says, coming out of nowhere.

"No good, we already have brothers in this club," Tamaki mutters, tapping his foot. "Nao listens well to others, gives emotional support and advice, stands up for what he believes in and for the sake of others, but also says how the way it is instead of sugar-coating, but not as blunt as Haruhi-"

"Hey! I heard that!" Haruhi says, walking up. "I'm not blunt I'm honest."

"-I think you should be..." Tamaki whips his finger out, pointing at me.

"The Friend Type!"

"What's that supposed to mean," I say, sweat dropping.

"Everyone feels comfortable around you, and they can chose to pursue a non-romantic relationship with you," Kyoya says, smirking.

"Ehh, whatever," I say, turning back to the girls. "Where were we?"

If I'm the friend type, I can hear all the juicy gossip from the girls at the club without seeming nosy outside the club, and perhaps less people will flirt.

I had customers for a while, until 4:00 came around. All the girls left to get ready for the ball, giggling and hoping they'll get to dance with their favorite host.

"Nao, here's your costume," Kyoya says, handing me a hanger covered with long paper. "Your shoes will be given to you soon."  
I nod, and walk to the dressing room, and I walk into a stall before quickly dressing. I'm wearing a light gray slacks and tuxedo coat, with a purple plum vest and a navy blue long neck tie tucked under, with the white undershirt. I take my hair out of the ponytail, and I brush it back and put a clip into it instead of a hair tie. I look good!

I walk out wearing my outfit without shoes, and Kyoya quickly hands me the shoes before briskly walking away. Weirdo.

I walk down to the ballroom, and Hikaru and Kaoru approach me.

"We have a plan to help reunite lovers, wanna help?" They ask, and I shrug. "What is it?"

"We're going to make Haruhi look girly basically."

I sweatdrop, and I give a 'really' face. "I'll do her makeup," I say, shaking my head, "You'll make her look like a clown."

"How do you know how to do makeup so well Nao?" Hikaru asks, and I shrug. "I am pretty good at drawing people's faces realistically in art," I say, "so I know which parts to high light with certain colors for the features to look a certain way."

Oscar goes to me for best acting.  
"That makes sense," Kaoru says, nodding.  
"Is this Tamaki's plan?" I say, and they both nod.

"Figures..." I mutter, and the rest of the host club walks up.

"Places!" Tamaki says, and we all nod.

-20 minutes later-

The girls are all gathered, and are waiting for the Host Club to appear.

"My little lambs who have gathered here tonight, we welcome you to the Ouran Host Club's ball!" Tamaki says, as the light shines on us and each chandelier lights up one by one. The girls giggle and start clapping, as the orchestra starts playing. We all bow, and Kyoya smiles, obviously fake.

"Ladies, feel free to dance to your heart's content with the Host club members, and enjoy yourself," Kyoya says, and some girls in the audience swoon. My opinion? I'd gag.

"In addition, the lady who dances best tonight will be crowned queen, and will receive a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king," Kyoya says, and girls get excited.

"Good luck to you," Tamaki says, sticking his hand out and winking, "baby."

Girls swoon, squeal, 'ahhhh!' and some even faint. I roll my eyes, Tamaki is such a fuck boy.

"We have a real spread tonight, why don't you try some food?" Kyoya says at an un-enthusiastic looking Haruhi.

"A-a real spread? Do you guys have any fancy tuna?" She says, looking hopeful. Kyoya's pen snaps, the Host Club looks shocked, and Tamaki flips off the balcony for no reason.

"You poor thing," the twins say, rubbing their faces against Haruhi's.

"Kyoya! Get us fancy tuna quickly!" Tamaki orders, and Kyoya is on the phone.

"Hey Kyoya, since you're on the phone, can you get us some unagi?" I say, and everyone turns white and looks at me.

"What? I've never had river eel before," I say, shrugging.

"Even I've had that," Haruhi says, "I came from somewhere outside of Tokyo, in a small farm on the main land. We're pretty poor, so we mostly ate foods we grew, and there wasn't a lot of grocery stores by where I lived."

"Oh you poor thing! Let Daddy comfort you with a hug!" Tamaki says, trying to hug me but I push him away.

"It's not the tomorrow, the days behind, but the now," I say, and everyone looks confused except for Kyoya.

"I'm gonna grind up on the flo' now," I say, and everyone looks confused except for Haruhi, who's laughing.

"I'll come with you," she says, breaking free of the twins. I nod and we walk down the staircase and to a pillar.

"Um, N-nao-kun," a voice says from behind me, and I turn around and see a girl.

"Yes?" I say, smiling at her. "Wo-would you like to dance?"

"Of course I would!" I say, grabbing hold of her hand delicately with my left hand. "But, I apologize beforehand if I step on your feet, I'm kind of a clutz," I say, raising my right arm wrapped in a cast. She giggles slightly, and I lead her to the floor.

Since the play happened not too long ago, I remember how to ballroom dance because of that weird dancing scene with Prince Tamaki. I guide her, and I make sure to spin her every once in a while for good measure. She's smiling more, and we chatted while dancing. When the song ended, we bowed to each other. "Feel free to visit me anytime at the Host Club," I say, smiling, "I'd love to get to know you more."

"And you too!" She replies, seemingly over her first shy encounter.

I look out of the corner of my eye, and see Haruhi being picked up by Mori and rushed out of the ballroom, and I follow behind.

The twins close in, and soon everyone but Tamaki is in the dressing room.

"Here, change into this," Kyoya says, handing Haruhi a dress in a package, and she goes into the dressing stall.

"Hitachiins, get out so we don't seem too suspicious and Tamaki won't be too pissy about us leaving," I say, and they nod, leaving the dressing room.

Haruhi walks out, looking as cute as a button.

"Haruhi you are just so cute looking in that dress," I say, and she sits down in front of me.

"You're lucky it's me doing your makeup," I say, putting on a light pink color that doesn't look chalky or crusty, putting on a light pink/brown eye shadow with the perfect wings. "The twins would put so much makeup on you that'd you look like a clown and your face would weigh the amount of a circus elephant." To go the extra distance, I take a gold eyeliner and line the outside of the wing.

I put on some blush, and step back to admire my masterpiece. "Perfecto," I say, and she stands up. I grab a water set on a desk for me, and I pop a pill in it when no one is looking, and it dissolves. The ball is rolling, and I chug the water. Everyone looks at me, "What? Concentration makes me thirsty."

"Hey! What's the big idea with everyone in here, we have guests to attend to!" Taamaki says, bursting into the room. Haruhi turns around, and Tamaki's jaw practically hits the floor. He did multiple double takes, and I slightly laughed.

"Go get 'em tiger," I say, and Haruhi walks past Tamaki and into the hallway, and followed Kyoya's instructions.

I looked at where Tamaki's gaze was on Haruhi, and I slapped him slightly.

"W-what was that for Nao?" He asked, tearing his gaze away from Haruhi.

"I know Haruhi looks hot af right now, but keep your gaze away from her butt," I say, "and you should know calling a guy around your age 'daddy' is pretty sexual if you aren't related to him. Apparently, it's hot and supposed to be a turn on." I say, and Tamaki's face goes red.

"I will not be sexual with my daughter!" He says, and I roll my eyes.

"Sure, and pigs fly."

I walk away back to the ball, and dance with some more girls. They all seemed shy at first, but warmed up to me.

"You gotta tell me more about Jennifer later, the last dance for the queen is coming up," I say on the second last dance, and the girl nods. We bow to each other, and I head up to where the rest of the host club is on the balcony, with Haruhi in her suit again.

"How did it go?" I asked, and she just shakes her head. "I figured as much, Tamaki isn't that good at undercover plans..."

All of the sudden, light shines on a girl with short hair and a boy outside.

"Now, ladies, the Host Club's final waltz goes to this couple," Tamaki says, pointing at the couple.

They start dancing, and everyone watches in awe. I wish I had someone who could treat me like that, to whisk me off my feet and dance with me in a Cinderella like ball gown, but fairy tales are fake and suck too. I mean, would I really wish to be like the Cinderella from the Grimm's fairy tales, who marries her father in the end because she looks like her dead mother/his dead wife? No.

"Tonight's dance queen," Hikaru says, holding a banana peel, "Is this lovely Princess Kanako!" Finishes Kaoru, holding another banana peel.

"The king will now kiss the queen on the cheek," Tamaki says, trying to look cool.

"Standing in for the king is Haruhi Fujioka!" The twins say, grins on their faces.

"Come on," says the guy next to Kanako, "this will commemorate your graduation from host-hopping."

"We'll cut your debt by 1/3," Kyoya says, and Haruhi nods. "It is only a peck on the cheek..."  
Of course it's not just a peck on the cheek, because Tamaki gets flustered in the end, and trying to get to Haruhi he pushes her into Kanako because he trips on a banana peel.

"Oh bother," I say, rolling my eyes. "Hey Kyoya, can you cut Haruhi's debt even more?" I say, looking towards him, and he shakes his head. "Not unless something more exciting happens," he says, and I shrug.

"Cut it by 1/2 instead and you've got a deal," I say, and he nods.

I look at Kanako and Haruhi as they slowly back away from each other, before they both turn around.

I sigh, I'm doing this for you Haruhi. I take the clip out of my hair, so it hangs around my face.

"Oh Haruhi!" I say, running towards her, avoiding the banana peels and a stunned Tamaki.

"Yes, Nao?" She asks, face towards mine. I wink, back turned to the crowd, and I put my left arm behind her back, and right arm on the side of her face, thumb by her lips.

"Your lips should be mine and mine only," I say huskily, leaning by her face, tilting my head to the side and kissing my thumb, but from everyone else's angle it looked like I was actually kissing Haruhi. Haruhi closes her eyes, and moves her head so it looks like we are actually kissing, and I break away.

"1/2 chopped off like cabbage," I whisper so only she can hear, and she smiles lightly.

I saw all the girls looking at us, fainting, 'awhiiing' or squealing. Some were talking about how they shipped us and how we were their new OTP.

"The ball is over ladies, have a nice night," Tamaki says, and all the girls quickly leave.

Once all the girls have left, Tamaki falls over. "My daughter's first and second kiss, stolen..."

"Cheer up boss, only the second one was romantic," the twins say snickering, and I shush them.

"Tamaki, it was a fake kiss," I say, rolling my eyes. "Like, ones you use for plays."

"What do you mean?" Tamaki says, sitting up.

"..." He won't understand unless I show him.

I walk towards him, and his eyes widen, and I put my right hand by his cheek gently, with my thumb by his lips.

"W-what are you doing," he says.

"Shhh, or else I might mess up and actually kiss you. I don't want Tamaki-cooties," I say, and I lean towards his lips, before turning and kissing my thumb and backing up.

"See? It looks like I'm kissing someone, but actually not," I say with a smile, as I walk away from Tamaki. Tamaki's face is cherry red.

"That was hilarious!" The twins say, laughing hard and clutching their stomach.

"That was, actually, funny to witness," Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses, smirk on face.

"That was cute to see on Haruhi, but not cute with Tamaki, but funny!" Honey says, and Mori nods.

"Yeah Tamaki, Nao asked Kyoya to cut my debt by 1/2 instead of 1/3, and he said as long as it was interesting."

"Urgh!" Tamaki says, face still red as he covers his face with his hands.

Time to initiate my plan to take a leave from school, as I feel a rumbling in my stomach

I laugh, before I start to gag. I quickly cover my mouth and run to the balcony railings and barf over the railing, making sure I don't get anything on my clothes.

"I-I feel really sick, I'm going home," I say, clutching my stomach.

"Why did you barf Nao? Are you okay?" Haruhi asks, and I shake my head.

"When I get sleep deprived, or have too much sugar, I get really sick for a week or so and barf up everything I eat..." I say, "It's not a big deal."

"We'll give you a ride home in our limo," the twins offer, but I shake my head.

"Thanks, but I called for an Uber around midnight and it's 11:50," I say.

"We can come check up on you this weekend and play doctor!" Honey says, smile on his face but concern in his eyes.

"I live in a two room apartment, with a small kitchen and my room, you guys would never fit. Besides, I'll have my cousin help me if I need anything. Besides, if I want to be back better than ever so this won't happen again, I'll need to get as much rest time as possible." I say, walking away holding my stomach.

"See you guys when I feel better!" I call out, walking to the Uber I summoned, and I head home.

When I get home, I quickly brush my teeth to remove the taste of barf, and I change into my pajamas and head to bed. This will be a relaxing week... well until I have to pretend to be Akemi Watanabe for the Host Club.

-dream sleep time skip whatebergnsoinfsoifn-

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing, and I pick it up. "Yerro," I groan out.

"Hi Nao, this is Haruhi, you left your messenger bag at school after the dance, and I picked it up and took it home. Want me to bring it to you?"

"Yeah sure," I groan out, "I'll text you my add-" I hear an annoying, posh voice in the background of her call.

"Hey Haruhi, are you on speaker right now," I say, eyebrow twitching. "Yeah, why?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"Okay, I'll text you my address," I say, "I'll thaw out some cake for you and make some tea or something..." I say, straining my voice.

I hear Honey in the background now, talking about how he wants to try my frozen cake. "Don't strain yourself," Haruhi says.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," I say, "I'll text you the address now. Talk to you soon," I say, and hung up.

Urgh, that stupid host club roped Haruhi into taking them to my house!

I pull up my message icon, and text Haruhi the address of a garbage dump an hour drive from here, and she texts me back that's she's on her way.

I put the phone away and groan, I have a lot of work to do.

I quickly take out my computer and pull up my hacker requests, and I have one from glasses/Kyoya. He was asking for Nao's address. Arghk! If I lied to him and once he got to the garbage dump, he'd get suspicious, but if I told him the real one he'd come over...

I emailed him back that I couldn't find any records for some reason on his current residence, so I told him the closest thing I could do was send him the school that Nao attends, so he could possibly get in touch with Nao there.

I forge some documents, hack and program for a few hours when I get a text. I look at it, and it's from Miyako asking if I can work today, which I reply I can, and she says I don't have to work Sunday through next Sunday than.

I check my clock and it's 2:50, and I quickly get ready to work. I put on pastel pink combat boots, with brown pants and a white black sweater. I put on my wig, makeup and eye contacts, and braid my wig-hair into two boxer braid. I grab my phone and purse, and leave for work at 3:30, and get there at 3:55. I quickly walk in, and am greeted by Miyako.

"Hey again," I say, and she gives me a quick hug and I hug her back. She always greets me with a hug, which is nice.

"So, explain how you got me roped into being a 1950's person," I say, and she sighs.

++++++++++FLASHBACK++++++++Miyako's POV

I was in the richer section of town where all the rich people go shopping, because I was going to 'illegally download' outfits I liked. Explanation, I had a talent for sewing, and I made all the clothes I wear. I try on clothes I like, take pictures, and leave without buying anything. When I get home, I create measurements, patterns, and make a copy of the outfit using cheaper materials that make the dress look the same.

On the way back in a boutique, I was talking to two twin boys in the boutique, and they said that their mother had a fashion line at the boutique. And we started chatting, and a blonde boy they knew went to the boutique for shopping, and we started talking about occupations and I said "Oh, I own a bar and have a performer," and they said they would love to have the performer do a day at their club. And I'm like "Oh yeah she'll sing any kind of songs you want," and they said "Oh can she sing songs from the 1950's?" And I'm like "hell yeah she's GOAT!" and they say "Oh yeah she better be or we will set the shadow king loose on your business lol"

-END OF FLASHBACK- Nao's POV

I sweat drop, and I get a call from my phone. I pick it up, and use my regular, Akemi voice.

"Hello, my cousin Nao is currently sick and in bed resting, so I'll be taking all calls for him while he's recovering. How may I help?"

"Oh, hi this is Haruhi, a friend of Nao. Can you please let him know the address he gave us was wrong? It kinda led us to a garbage dump," Haruhi replies nervously.

"Ohhhh, did you have others with you?" I ask, and she sighed. "Yeah, there were some guys that Nao is in a club with, and he told them not to visit but they wanted to anyway. They told me if I didn't bring them along they'd raise my debt to them."

Angry tick marks appear by my forehead. "Oh, you poor girl, getting threatened by a bunch of guys sucks, it honestly does. I've been there, done that, and it was money I owed too. I beat them tf up, but that's because I used to have anger issues," I say, laughing at the end.

"Anyway, I was wondering if Nao can give me his real address or something so I can return his bags so he can do the homework this weekend?"

"Oh, I can pick them up at your house if you'd like," I say, putting my hand over the receiver. "Miyako, can I take a rain check today? I gotta pick up homework for my sick cousin."

"Go ahead," she says, nodding. Moving my hand away, I nod. "Yeah, I can do that for you. Should you send me your address or is it already in the phone?"

"It's in the phone," she says, "Ok, I'll see you soon, bye." I hang up, and call for an Uber.

"I gotta go, see you in a week or so," I say, waving goodbye to Miyako.

I'm in the back of the uber, and I take off my cast and put it in the purse, and I fix my hair.

"We're here ma'm," the Uber driver says, and I nod. "Thanks!" I say, taking my purse and phone, leaving the car.

I walk to her apartment door and ring the doorbell, and I hear footsteps approaching the door. The door opens, and a woman/man is standing there.

"Oh, hi, is this Haruhi's house?" I ask, and the person looks me up and down. "When did Haruhi get such a stylish friend?" They mutter, and they look me in the eyes. "Come on in!" They say, and I walk in and remove my shoes.

"Wow! What a nice and clean apartment you have," I say, looking around. "Why, thank you!" The person says.

"I don't wish to sound impolite, but I was wondering what pronouns you'd like me to use?" I ask, and the person looks shocked for a moment, before laughing.

"I use both, I work at a tranny bar. Call me Ranka when I look like a girl, like today, and call me Ryoji when I look like a guy."

"That's much easier for me, thank you," I say, smiling.

Haruhi walks out of a side door and looks at me. "You're... Akemi Watanabe? I was expecting you to be... different looking."

I pat down my hair, "What's wrong with my looks?" I ask, and she shakes her head. "No, I was expecting you to look more like Nao."

"Ah, we have different eye color and hair color, of course since I'm wearing a wig, but we used to look a lot alike when we were kids," I say, and she passes me the messenger bag and a hanger covered in a plastic bag.

"This is what Nao left at school," she says. "Thanks! I'll get going to get out of your hair," I say, turning to leave.

"Wait, would you like to stay for dinner?" Haruhi says, and I turn back around. "I'd love to!" I say.

"My dad has to leave for her shift at the tranny bar tonight, so we'll be having an early dinner," she says, and I nod. "Do you want me to help with anything?" I say.

"Well, if you're offering, can you peel these potatoes? I'm making Potato Korokke," she says. "Sure!" I say, taking a bowl of potatoes, and I start to peel.

"So, tell me about yourself, how did you get in debt to this Host Club?" I ask, and she tells me the whole story. She tells me about the ball, leaving the part out about the kiss, and how Nao was her first friend.

"And he's honestly one of the better friends I've had, he's honest and doesn't sugar coat things, like how most people do."

"Good grief, I think some of my personality has rubbed off on him," I say, rolling my eyes.

"What do you mean?" She says, and I laugh.

"As kids, when we played with other children at the park or at school, I would always tell people what was on my mind," I say, thinking about what my actual brother did, and putting Akemi in his shoes. "I'd tell kids what games I did or didn't want to play, and now that I think about it I sounded like a selfish brat."

Haruhi laughed. "Pshh, and I think I was bad."

"I've dealt with people with worse personalities than me though, so I don't feel TOO guilty," I say, and she laughs. "Wait 'til you hear about this one guy in my club, name's Tamaki,"she says, and begins to tell me ridiculous stories from the Host Club.

"You have your work cut out for you," I say, discarding the skin. "Should I do anything else?"

"Nah, just sit down at the table," she says, and I nod and sit down.

"Tell me about your life, growing up," she says, and I think.

"I grew up with Nao, as you know, but I lived about a mile from his home," I say, thinking up a story to incorporate truth.

"Now, everyone in my town believed that all girls had to be carted off to a man the moment they were old enough to be married, start a strong family for generations to come, blah blah blah, and I didn't want that, I wanted to make a life for myself and not just be some farmer's wife, and lead some farmer's life. Do you have any idea how guilty I'd feel if I had daughters who would face the same fate as I? After I finished high school in the town, I was supposed to be married off, but I ran away before they had the chance to marry me off, and I honestly don't have any regrets. I wasn't allowed to do the heavy work, because I'm a 'delicate female', but that's just B.S. I wanted to pursue my own career where I can make my own decisions to do some heavy lifting."

"Damn, that's really cool of you," Haruhi says, and I smile. "Thanks," I say, "Now, I'm in online courses at college and am working at a bar as a performer. Next week, I got roped into working for your school's Host Club."

"Good luck," she says, and the oven dings. She pulls out the Potato Korroke.

"Smells SO good, it's been forever since I've had a meal family style," I say, and she smiles softly.

"You'll have to come over more often, most of the girls I know are shallow and vain, so it's not often when I get smart girls like you who talk to me," she says, and I smile back at her.

"That's a good thought to know," I say, and she nods.

"Dinner!" She calls out, and Ranka comes to the table, we say a blessing for the table and meal and dig in.

"Wow! This is so good!" I say, and Haruhi smiles. "Thanks, I got the recipes from my mom," she says.

"Well, give your mom my thanks for this awesome recipe!" I say, and Haruhi's smile falters a bit.

"My mom isn't around anymore," Haruhi says, and I drop the topic.

We finish up, and Haruhi gives me leftovers in a doggie bag to take home.

"Thank you!" I say, before waving goodbye and taking my (Nao's) stuff, and leaving. I walk home, and listen to more songs from the '50's, while doing hacking jobs.

-time skip to Wednesday-

I've been skipping school for the past three days, and it's been absolutely great, I've caught up on sleep, done hacking jobs, worked on the project for Kyoya and I, and I started learning French! '

Around 12:00, I styled my hair and put on my makeup. For makeup, I did what I usually did for contouring and such, but I made my eyebrows look more arched. I put on perfect cat eye makeup, with blue gradient white eyeshadow, with a bright red lipstick to finish it off. I curled my purple-blue hair to look like Marilyn Monroe, and took a long, white scarf and draped it over my head and shoulder (ever see the video 100 years of beauty-Japan? That's what this is supposed to look like).

I put on a pair of black flats, some black sweatpants and a loose and flowey light green shirt. I grab my purse, and put my keys in it along with the mp3 player to the songs on karaoke.

I take my phone, and plug it into my computer. I record a voice message, using my Nao voice, and set my computer up to send it at 3:00, when I'm performing. That way, if anyone has suspicions that Akemi and Nao are the same person, the suspicions will be shattered with that phone call.

I check the clock, and it's 1:00. I take an Uber to the school, and I walk to the secretary's office at 1:15.  
"Hello Miss," I say, and she looks up at me. "Yes?" she asks flatly, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"I'm here for the Ouran Host Club, I'm working here today. Akemi Watanabe," I say, and she starts typing on her computer, and the printer starts printing.

"Here," she says, hastily passing me a pass. "This is your visitor's pass."  
"Thank you! Where is the Music room 3?" I ask, even though I already know.

"Why should I know, now scram!" She says, and I nod, walking out of the office.

If I immediately find my way there, the club would be suspicious, so I absent mindedly wander the halls, pretending to look for a room. I suddenly feel something, more like someone, bump into my shoulder as I walk, making me drop my purse.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" The person gruffly shouts, and I turn around and see Kasanoda. His eyes soften, and he quickly looks down embarrassed. "Oh, didn't see you, sorry!" I say softly, hoping he'll look up and stop being embarrassed.

"N-no it was my fault, I'm sorry!" He says, face turning red, before he bends down and picks up my purse, before handing it to me.

"You're really nice, well, you're name isn't really nice, but you're acting really nice," I say. "Gah, I'm rambling, my name's Akemi Watanabe," I say, sticking out my right hand without it's cast on.

"Ritsu Kansada," he says, sticking out his. "Well, Kan-kun, I must be off," I say, "I hope we can chat sometime soon. By any chance, do you know where Music Room number 3 is?"

"Why are you referring me to one younger than you? And why do you want to go to Music Room 3?" He asks, rolling his eyes. Probably thinking I'm another, prissy rich girl looking to ride dicks in my imagination there.

"1) I'm a college student, though I don't look like it," I say with a slight giggle. "2) My boss got me snagged up to work there, and I'm doing it as a favor for her. It's only for a day, thank god, so..." I say, pulling out my pass and showing it to him.

"Thank god, I thought you were one of THOSE girls," he says, and I laugh. "I'll show you the way, follow me," he says, turning on his heel, and I walk next to him as we walk to the Host Room.

* * *

 **This seems like a good place to leave off, at 9,950 something words. My grandma is visiting *rip* but I'm hiding away to write more chappies so :D**

 **Anyway, for fun I'm writing alternate scenarios at the end of chapters for fun, so enjoy!**

* * *

 **OMAKE SCENARIO 1**

"Standing in for the King is Haruhi Fujioka!" The twins say, grins on their faces.

"Come on," says the guy next to Kanako, "this will commemorate your graduation from being a total whore."

 **OMAKE SCENARIO 2 (LOTS OF LANGUAGE WARNING)**

"Do you think Miyako would mind if I did a different song from the set?" I ask, and Abby shrugs. "As long as it doesn't suck."

I go to the stage, with Abby's karaoke ready.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo, yooo

I wrote a rap, I wrote a little rap song/ I wrote a little rap song on my black berry . Yo, ye yo, ye yo, yo

Pussy pussy pussy marijuana, ijuana  
Pussy pussy pussy marijuana  
Pussy pussy pussy marijuana, ijuana  
Pussy pussy pussy marijuana

Pussy pussy pussy marijuana, ijuana  
Smoke weed everyday, and I'm gonna  
Eat that pussy, period, comma, pause  
But hold the applause. I want to mould and fold the laws

I'll be bold, unroll the doge  
I want to touch your pee pee ho  
Blunt in the other hand, watch me roll  
Don't got a watch, but watch my flow  
Don't got a clock, but Glock them hoes  
Don't ever sleep, can't watch me doze

Now I'm back now, rolling in the lack now  
Gonna put a smack down, to this fucking whack town  
P-U-S-S-Y 'til I die  
I might be fat, but my bitches stay fly  
Maybe it's because I'm so high in the sky  
Don't got a job so la la la  
La la la."

I than proceed to get million yen tip.


	7. Chapter 7: Vines and Roses

Hey, just a reminder to "Pokemon Go to the polls and vote for who you want Nao/Akemi to end up with!" -Chillary Clinton

The reason I'm posting this chapter a day late is because I've been busy all week, and I wanted to write up some surprises in this chapter based off some PMs.

I'm also answering questions too in every chapter! So you can PM me a question or leave it in a review.

Get ready for a drama filled chapter!

* * *

AKEMI POV

I follow Ritsu Kasanoda (A/N- I accidentally spelled his name wrong at the end of the chapter, oopsies) to the Music Room, and we stop in front of the door.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta get ready," I say, smile on face. "Thank you for helping!" I say, bowing slightly, before turning on my heel and walking in to the Music Room.

"YOU'RE THE PERFORMER?!" A familiar, posh voice, and I turn and see Tamaki. He's wearing a black leather jacket, hair slicked back with gel. With black pants and shiny black loafers and a white undershirt, he looks pretty much from the 1950's. If anything, he looks straight from the '50s, except the hair is more like barbershop quartet from the 1920's.

"Yup, didn't you know?" I say, setting my bag on a chair, and I walk towards him.

"Stand still," I say, reaching up to his hair and mussing it up a bit. "What was that for?!" He asks, and I roll my eyes.

"The leather jacket was the bad boy look of the '50's, if you want to pull off the look you needed that slight rugged edge."

"Hi Akemi!" Haruhi says, walking up to me and I give her a greeting hug. She tenses up at first, before relaxing and putting her arms around me. She's wearing a white collared shirt, with a tan sweater over it and black pants, paired with brown loafers.

"Hey Haruhi, what's up?" I say, as we both peel off. "Y-you know each other?" Tamaki says, and we nod. "We had dinner the other day at my house while Akemi picked up Nao's books," Haruhi says, and Tamaki's jaw drops. "Y-you just met and already are having dinner together?"

"He is how you described, I ran into them last Thursday night," I say, and Haruhi nods.

"Hey Ake-chama!" Honey says, and I roll my eyes. "Honey, it's alright if you call me Akemi." Honey is wearing the same thing as Haruhi, except he has a light pink sweater over it with a bunny stitched on it.

"All right Ake-chama!" He says. "Can I call you Akemi?" Tamaki says, with puppy dog eyes. "It's Watanabe-sama to you," I say, turning on my heel and walking towards Kyoya in the corner. Kyoya is wearing the same thing as Tamaki, with his hair slightly ruffled.

"Don't you guys have classes? I saw no one in the hallway," I say, and he nods. "We do," he says coolly, "but our club was released early to start the event. Please tell Nao thank you for working on the project while sick too, do you know when he is coming back?"

"He's coming back tomorrow," I say, and Kyoya nods. "Your costume is in the dressing room," he says. "And where is that now?" I say, and he nods towards the dressing room."Thanks," I say, walking off.

Inside is a grey, short sleeved polo shirt and a pink and white plaid long skirt. I put that on with the kitten heels they provide, and I take off my scarf from my head and walk out.

"Cute outfit," I say, "who picked it out?"

"Why," Hikaru says, "we did," Kaoru says, and both rest their elbows in my shoulders. "Our mom is a fashion designer." Hikaru and Kaoru are wearing matching bomber jackets, except Hikaru's is blue with Kaoru's hot pink, and black pants with white tennis shoes. There hair is styled where it curls up at the top.

"Interesting," I say, walking forward as they fall off of me.

"Do you want to do any vocal warmups?" He says, and I shake my head no. "Why not? Don't you need to prepare?" He asks, "'In preparation for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable," I say, and Kyoya pulls out his black notebook and writes something down. Probably about how I'm a bad bitch.

"Wow, who quoted that?" Haruhi says, "Dwight D Eisenhower, I like using quotes in situations," I say shrugging.

"Doesn't Nao also do that?" Kyoya asks, smirk on face. He's suspicious of something...

"Nope, he makes it up on the spot, usually ends up sounding more like a mysterious question than a quote at times though..." I say, trailing off.

"Yeah, yeah we get it, you're cultured, for a commoner" Tamaki says, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't be salty Tamaki," I say, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Well, it's 2:10, positions everyone!" Kyoya calls out, as I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see Mori, wearing the same style as Kyoya and Tamaki, but his hair is styled with the puff up at the front.

"Hey Hubby," I say with a wink, and he blushes slightly. "I like your clothes," he says, before walking to where everyone was standing. Was that supposed to be a compliment?

I walk to the stage they set up behind them, inhaling through my nose.

"I'm ready whenever y'all are," I say, grabbing the old-styled microphone and tapping it lightly.

"Start when we finish greeting the girls," Kyoya says, and I nod.

The girls come in, looking shocked to see a blue-haired woman at the stage. They whisper to each other 'who is she?' 'what is she doing with the club?' 'must be special treatment.'

I look towards Kyoya, and he nods. This was going to be sooooo boring, none of the songs were the exciting ones from the 50's and 60's, all of them were lovey-dovey BS, just like how it was requested.

 _"You don't own me_  
 _I'm not just one of your many toys,"_ I sing, looking at the girls. They're already whispering, 'what a snooze fest, 'I can do better.'  
 _"You don't own me_  
 _Don't say I can't go with other boys,"_ this song needs a kick, or else I'll be boo-ed the whole time!

 _"Woah, let's go,"_ I start, and that snaps the girls' attention.  
 _"But I'm Gerald and I can always have just what I want_  
 _She's that baddest I would love to flaunt_  
 _Take her shopping, you know Yves Saint Laurent,"_ everyone's attention is on me, and I smile.  
 _"But nope, she ain't with it though_  
 _All because she got her own dough_  
 _Boss bossed if you don't know_  
 _She could never ever be a broke oooooohhh,"_ I sing, leaning back, before snapping back up.

 _"Don't tell me what to do_  
 _And don't tell me what to say!"_ I sing with energy, and the girls tap their feet to the beat.  
 _"Please, when I go out with you_  
 _Don't put me on display!"_ I sing, wrapping my right hand around the microphone pole and throwing it to my left.

 _"You don't own me_  
 _Don't try to change me in any way_  
 _You don't own me_  
 _Don't tie me down cause I'd never stay,"_ Some girls begin clapping, and I smile, beginning to wrap up the song.

 _"Don't tell me what to do_  
 _And don't tell me what to say_  
 _Please, when I go out with you_  
 _Don't put me on display!"_ I finish, before backing away from the microphone, getting some applause, before they quickly return to their activities. I can feel the glare of the Shadow King, so I go back to singing quieter songs, but they're still not as boring as the background music should have beem.

About 1 hour later, all the girls who entered at the beginning have left, so now I had a new round of unimpressed whispers at the strange, purple/blue haired girl taking a break.

I walk up to the stage, and think of an attention grabbing song. "Heyyyy ladies, grab yo' man, yo' friend, or yourself and let's jam!" I sing, hitting the speaker that's connected to the computer with the karaoke up. All the girls looked shocked or appalled at the idea, especially Kyoya and Tamaki. Because they pussies.

 _"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog_  
 _Cryin' all the time,"_ I sing, and one girl stands up, walking with Honey to the empty floor in front of me.  
 _"Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit_  
 _And you ain't no friend of mine,"_ 5 girls stand up, walking to where Honey and that one girl are, and start swaying to the beat.

 _"Well they said you was high-classed_  
 _Well, that was just a lie,"_ I sing, winking at Tamaki as some girls lightly giggle. More girls come to the front, with Mori, the Hitachiins and Haruhi. Hikaru and Kaoru snapped fingers to the beat in sync, and the girls went gaga for some reason. Mori just stood there, and Haruhi was swaying to the beat, with giggling girls surrounding her.  
 _"Yeah they said you was high-classed_  
 _Well, that was just a lie,"_ I repeat, with some girls singing along.  
 _"Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit_  
 _And you ain't no friend of mine,"_ the drums beat hits, and I spread my legs and did the Elvis Presley dance. The girls laughed, and I smiled. I look at Hikaru and Kaoru, and they nod to eachother, and walk off the dance floor.

 _"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog_  
 _Cryin' all the time,"_ pretty much everyone was on the dance floor, save for Kyoya. Some girl was being held by Tamaki as he guided her in a swing dance, twirling her occasionally. He traded off almost every verse. But Honey, on the other hand, was the one being twirled occasionally, which is funny to see.  
 _"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog_  
 _Cryin' all the time,"_ I hear footsteps on both of my sides, and see a twin coming from each. They are snapping to the beat, and I nod towards them.  
 _"Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit_  
 _And you ain't no friend of mine,"_ I sing, and when the drum beat hits the twins do the Elvis Presley dance with me, getting squeals of excitement from the girls, and mostly laughs.

I finish up the song, and the girls all applaud, with some laughing. Hikaru and Kaoru bow mockingly, before turning towards me and saluting. I salute them back, as they walk hand in hand off the stage and into the crowd.

The karaoke for the next song starts, and I start singing Maybelline. The girls bop to the beat, occasionally dancing hand in hand with the boys they reserved hours with until the new shift starts. Everytime I start a new song, I see the glimmer of excitement in their eyes. Some sit on the sides for breaks from dancing, and some even sing along.

When most of the dance floor is cleared out, I start singing easier songs like Mr. Sandman, and when more arrive on the floor I play more up-beat songs. I finished with Bo Diddley, with the girls singing along, when the Host Club's reservations were over.

They all left, most without saying goodbye to their hosts, but greeted me instead. Telling me I sang amazingly, or I looked super cute and they hope I came back. I greeted them with thank you's and you too, until they all left and I slouched in a chair.

"Tough crowd at first," I mumble, wiping away a trickle of sweat.

"Wow, that was super cool Ake-chama!" Honey says, and I shake my head. "Akemi, and it's what I do for a living," I say.

"Well, profits went up for the Host Club today," Kyoya says, punching numbers into a calculator. "We'll keep you in mind for future events. We have 30 minutes 'til club closing time, and no more reservations for the day."

"Why, thank you Ootori, I see that as a compliment from you," I say royally, mock bowing. "But you guys have a tough crowd, I wonder how Haruhi keeps up with you guys, being with guys all the time would be SO overwhelming a times, especially this big nerd," I say, jacking my thumb over at Tamaki who is lurking behind me.

"I am not a big nerd!" Tamaki says angrily, "Besides, why wouldn't Haruhi mind being around her-I mean his! gender?"

"Tamaki, I'm not a baka, I know Haruhi's a girl," I say bluntly, and he falls over in shock.

"Now, now, don't worry, I ain't no snitch," I say, holding my hands up in front of me defensively. "But, y'all need to go easier on Haruhi," I say, standing up and walking over to her. "She's a VIF, Very Important Friend, and if she tells me that any of you are being mean, stalkerish or too weird to her, I will do something you all regret."

"Like what can a girl do to us? Cook us something to death?" the twins ask eachother, before laughing.

"Ha, very funny. Are you boys allergic to nuts?" I ask sweetly, and they shake their heads no. "Why do you ask?" They say together, and I grin evilly. "Because I'm going to kick yours up your throat if you are asses to Haruhi!"

They gulp, and hide behind Mori, who just walks away from them.  
"Hey, I have a message on my phone," Tamaki says, "It's from Nao, I must have had my phone on silent."

He pulls out an iPhone 6+, and plays the voicemail.

"Hey guys! Nao here," My Nao voice says from the phone, "Sorry for barfing again... I've gotten a lot of rest in. I learned some French, read a lot, worked on homework and school projects, etc. Anyway... that's pretty much it. If Akemi is listening right now, tell her to get me McD's! I am a hungry, growing boy! I need food! Bye!" The message clicks, and I laugh. The message I recorded was scripted for sounding casual, and I had already planned how to react.

"God, Nao just got out of being sick, and he wants McD's..." I say, shaking my head with a small smile. "He's ridiculous. He always moves on so quickly..."

"Well- hey, it looks like the host club has a brand-new guest," the twins say, looking at the doorway where a girl appears. She's wearing the Ouran uniform, and she has a large pink bow in her brown hair. The twins walk up to her, roses in hand.

"Come on in, what are you waiting for?" Kaoru says, with a sly wink. "Watching from afar is no fun," Hikaru finishes.

"Please, Miss."

Tamaki walks calmly to the twins, pushing them aside.  
"Stop that. How many times do I have to tell you boys to be more courteous to our first-time guests?" Tamaki suddenly has a backdrop of roses, as he turns to the mysterious girl.  
"Please, you don't have to be afraid, my princess.  
I welcome you to the Ouran host club," he reaches out a hand, as to cup the girl's face.

Renge slaps his hand away, "No! Don't touch me, you phony!"

"What do you mean I'm phony?!" Tamaki asks, stepping back in shock.

"Just what I said. You're phony. I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this host club! You shouldn't go spreading your love around so easily like that, you stupid!" Tamaki's mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.

"You must be a dim-witted narcissist!"  
"You're incompetent!"  
"You're a commoner."  
"You're disgusting." With every word said, Tamaki was shot by the words, until he fell backwards.

He's created a new technique. One-man slow motion!" The twins say, smirking.

"I don't suppose you are..." Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses.

"It's you, Kyoya. Oh, how I longed to meet you. My one and only prince charming!" She cries out, running towards him and hugs him.

"Your fiancee?" I ask, tilting my head to the side, Kyoya didn't seem like the type to marry this energetic girl...

"Of course, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Renge Hoshakuji, and I'm transferring into Ouran academy's 1st-year class A tomorrow."

"Well, nice to meet you Renge," I say with a small smile and a short nod. She nods back towards me, I hope I'm on her good side...

"Oh this is a story of love at first sight.  
I couldn't resist the way you were adoring those flowers in the backyard when you thought no one else was looking.  
And how sweet it was when you reached out to that poor little injured kitten!" She says, breaking away from Kyoya, fantasizing about those things he 'did'.

Haruhi sweatdrops, "Could you have the wrong person?"

"No way!  
I could recognize my love anywhere. He's a gentleman who's kind to everyone and doesn't ask for anything in return. He likes solitude, but in fact sometimes he gets lonely. He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, Uki-doki Memorial. You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi!"

"Otaku?" I ask, and everyone's eyes widens.

"I've never seen one!" Kaoru says, eyes widening in shock, with Hikaru nodding in agreement.

"I get it now. You're in love with that character. You're projecting the love onto me, and you somehow deluded yourself into thinking that we're engaged. I assume this Miyabi character probably wears glasses as well," Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses. "This is the first time I've met her, and I don't recall ever asking for her hand in marriage..."

"According to my research, I understand that you are in charge managing the club." Kyoya nods, and Renge smiles.  
Is that true, Kyoya?

"That's perfect! I've made up my mind. From now on, I'm gonna be the manager of this host club," Renge says, putting her hand into a peace sign.

"Ummmmm... listen Kyoya..." Tamaki starts, but Kyoya hold up his hand.

"Miss Hoshokuji is the only daughter of a very important Ootori family client.  
So, please be polite and try not to offend her, all right?" The host club nods, and I walk to my bag, picking it up.

"I'm blasting off, have fun! Good luck to you all and your new manager!" I say, walking out. "I'll have Nao return the outfit tomorrow."

"Wait!" Haruhi says, and I stop and turn around. "Yes?" I ask, and she passes me papers in an envelope. "This is Nao's makeup homework."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to give it to him," I say, before I briskly walk out of there, not wanting to deal with Renge. She seemed like a mega otaku...

Walking home, I picked up some McD's for myself, and I pigged out once I got home. I took out my contacts, wiped off my makeup, and tore off my wig, untangling it from the hairstyle I put it in. I wash the wig, with my regular brown hair in a ponytail, glasses tipped on my nose. I have to go to school tomorrow, which will be such a drag. I finish my makeup homework, and go to bed at midnight.

=====time skip to next day======

All day, people have been greeting me back after my long leave. I'm just really irritated with everyone right now, because with Japan's magical Uterus Ninjas all up in my grill, I'm on edge today. I've only seen Haruhi and the twins because Advanced Algebra was cancelled for the day because someone threw a pencil at the ceiling, it got stuck there, and now they have to replace the whole ceiling in that room. Damn rich people...it's just a tiny hole. Ritsu and Nekozawa were glad to see me, and so was I. It was nice talking to them.

"H-Hey Nao, there was this totally pretty girl, but she's a bit older than me, and I think I like her," Ritsu says, and I smile.

"Good for you man!" I say, lightly punching his arm, "What's her name?"

"H-her name is Akemi Watanabe, she has these big blue eyes, and really pretty purple blue hair," he says, and I puff my mouth out, full of air, but I blow out and start laughing. "Th-that's really funny," I say, wiping a tear from my eye. If Ritsu found out that the so called crush he had on was on me, he'd flip.

"Why? She was the only chick who wasn't mean, rude, or ignored me," he says, crossing his arms. "That's my cousin," I stop laughing, and he looks at me in shock. "You have a cousin?" He asks surprised, and I roll my eyes.

"Most people have cousins, Ritsu Kasanoda," Umehito says with a smirk from under his cloak, and I nod.

"She took care of me when I was sick, and she sings at a bar, and a friend asked her for a favor, so the favor was at here I guess," I say, summarizing it, and Ritsu nods. "Did s-she say anything about me?" He asks, and I pretend to think for a moment. Should I say yes, or no...?

"Well, yeah, she said she ran into a guy who seemed nice and not like some egotistical members of the Host Club," I say, Ritsu seems to need some encouragement from time to time.

"Sh-she said I'm not egotistical? Th-that's so nice..." He says, putting his hands over his face as his entire face turns bright red. Class soon ended, and I went to the nurse's office and got my cast 'officially' taken off, which took about 20 minutes, before I walked to the Host Club Room

The moment I walk into the room, I hear an annoying voice call out. "NAOOOOO! I'VE MISSED YOUuu-" Tamaki says, jumping towards me in a hug, but I side step him as he hits a wall.

"I don't do hugs," I say, walking away from Tamaki and towards Kyoya, sitting down next to him on the couch. "Anything I missed?"

"We have a host manager named Renge," Kyoya says, and I nod. "Is she bitchy? Nice? Weird?"

"She's an O-TA-KU~" The twins say, popping out from behind me.

"Oh, okay," I say, and their jaws drop. "That's your reaction?" They asked surprised, and I shrug. "She could have been a murderer, but she's an Otaku, so it's not that bad."

"She's also obsessed with Kyoya-senpai," Haruhi says, and I snicker. "That's surprising, no offense Kyoya," I say, holding up a hand. Tamaki jumps up from his position, and walks towards us.

"I thought about it a lot last night, and maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea," he says, before sitting on the couch.

"Why so? I feel like I missed a lot..." I say, and Tamaki puts his hand on his chin.

"Well, it's fairly obvious, isn't it? Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi. So if Haruhi has a girlfriend around, it could bring out the female within her. Renge's girlish air of tenderness might be able to stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."

Haruhi rolls her eyes, "Good grief," she says, and I nod in agreement. "Tamaki, if Haruhi gets in touch with her feminine side, the ladies in the club might find out she's a chick lacking a dick, and she can't work here anymore."

"Language!" Tamaki says, and I roll my eyes. "You're such a grandpa," I say, sticking my tongue out as I pull the lower lid of my eye down.

Renge walks into the room, holding a platter of black circles.  
"Hey, everyone. You'd be happy to know that your new manager, Renge has baked all of you some cookies!"

"Sweet! Food!" I say, jumping up and walking towards Renge. "I'm Nao Araki, nice to meet you, I assume you're the new manager of this club," I say, and she nods. "Renge Hoshakuji, nice to meet you too. Would you like a cookie?" She asks, and I nod. "Gladly," I say, picking up a cookie.

"Oh, isn't she lady-like? I'm so moved by your generosity," Tamaki says, as he puts his hand on his chest, looking up at the ceiling dramatically.

I didn't bake these cookies for you, you phony prince. I'm sorry, I burnt them a little bit. I did the best I could! They're kinda burnt..." She says, as the rest of the Host Club walks up, and takes a cookie. Except Tamaki, who's growing mushrooms in the corner.

"She wasn't kidding, these cookies really are burnt," Honey says, and Mori takes his cookie.

"Don't eat that, Mitsukuni. It's bad for you." Renge's hair turns to snakes, and she starts chasing them around the room.

"Waah, she's scaring me!" Honey cries out, and Mori tucks Honey under his arm. I take a bite of the cookie, and while it's dried out and tastes slightly of ash, it doesn't taste too bad.

"These are actually pretty tasteful," I say, taking another bite. "I can't bake for my life, so these are pretty good."

"Yeah, I agree," Haruhi says, walking up next to me.

"May I try?" Hikaru asks, biting down on Haruhi's cookie.

"Oh oh, Haruhi, you've got crumbs on your face," Kaoru says, licking the crumbs off Haruhi's face.

"D-did you see what they just did? He took a bite-" Tamaki says, stuttering.

"Want me to get some action in like I did last Friday?" I ask, and the twins laugh as Tamaki face palms/

"That's not the way you're supposed to react, Haruhi.  
You have to stay strong and reject them, then casually brush them to the side.  
Do you understand?" Tamaki says, hands on hips.

Haruhi rolls her eyes, "This is sexual harassment, senpai."

Tamaki starts ranting, and I zone out.

"Cut it out boss, we're sorry," the twins say, and Tamaki looks at me pointedly.

"Yeah yeah, I'm sorry," I say, and Tamaki exhales in relief. "Sorry I didn't get in on the action."

Tamaki gasps, and falls backwards. The twins laugh, and Haruhi snickers a bit, while Kyoya just smirks in the corner.

"Lukewarm."

"Huh?" I ask, turning towards Renge.

"Every single one of you, except for Kyoya, all of your characters are lukewarm. Each of you needs to have some sort of dark side. You understand? Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men who are troubled." Well yeah, girls think they can fix the broken sides of the broken. But they can't, some habits can't be broken unless time heals, and even than it doesn't work. I've seen it through out my life...My eyes start watering for some reason, and I blink a couple times. I can't cry, I promised myself that a long time ago.

"If you keep carrying on like this, it's only a matter of time before the girls get tired of you and stop coming all together.  
Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyoya's business?  
As your manager, it's my duty to change your character backgrounds.  
Let's start with you!  
If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're no different to a baby.  
Therefore, from now on, you are the baby-faced thug.  
And Mori senpai, you're his childhood-friend, the flunky.  
The twins will be basketball players enslaved in their own world.  
Haruhi, you're one of the honor students who's constantly being bullied.  
Nao, you're the other honor student who escaped from an overbearing household, and you're getting threats to come back home," she says, and I nod. She couldn't have hit closer to home, except for the threats.

"And as for you, Tamaki, you're the school idol who's admired for your good looks but you actually have an inferiority complex you're hiding from the world.  
The lonely prince.  
And Kyoya, you're perfect just the way you are now.  
So I want you to stay as kind and affectionate as ever, 'kay?"

I zone out, and I watch Tamaki do some weird dance moves, before he looks out the window dramatically. God, Renge just made him a million times more annoying.

"We start filming tomorrow, since it's a 3 day weekend! The movie crew is coming out in about... 20 minutes, so just stick around here," Renge says, and my phone starts ringing.

"I gotta take this, be right back," I say, walking to the corner of the room, and I look at my phone. The contact is the OG.

"Hey," I say, picking up the phone.

"Sup Kak," I hear Nao, the real one, say. "Guess what? I got my first job!"

"Wow! That's great! What is it?" I ask, and I can practically imagine him smiling from the other end.

"I'm coming back to Japan to film this movie for some French girl and a club," Nao says, and my smile drops.

"W-what?" I ask, tears forming in my eyes. What is going on today? I quickly wipe them away. "Yeah, I'm doing translations so it'll be multi-platform for different countries, with subs, and eventually dubs. Like an anime, oh, and I'm also filming some of the rain scenes that Frenchie wanted me to include," he says, and I put my hand on my forehead.

"Are you in Japan right now?" I ask, "Yeah, I'm about 15 minutes away from set."

"Oh god, I'm in the movie we're going to be filming. Okay, have you changed your appearance or anything since America?" I ask, and I hear him inhale sharply. "Yeah, I have the 'American teen country club boy' hair cut now," he says, faking an American accent. I laugh softly, "That's good, because I still have your hairstyle. Should I say we're twins?" I ask, and I can practically hear him thinking.

"Yeah, if you haven't teched it out to people if you showed your info," he says, and I think back (A/N- If this is a plot hole and I accidentally already had Kako/Nao/Akemi send family relations to glasses, just ignore it.). "I don't believe so, what's your American name now?"

"I go by Ted Cruz now, in my free time outside of filming I go Zodiac Killing," he says sarcastically, and I face palm.

"Just kidding, I go by Dan Lester," he says. (A/N-Yes, it's a AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire ref, because Dil Howlter would be an odd American name)

"Ok, I'll see you soon. Hit me up once you arrive, you can spend the night at my place if you want," I say, before hanging up.

I walk back to the group, and Renge looks up at me. "We're going to start filming once they arrive," she says, and I nod.

Everyone talks about their roles, but I'm lost in thought. What if people get suspicious? I mean, I never mentioned I had a twin...

"Filming crew is here!" Renge calls out, and the Host Club doors open.

I look towards the door expectantly, and some older men step in, followed by the crew.

The Host Club stands up to greet them, but I look at the back and see my brother.

"Dan!" I call out, running towards the back. I could feel people's eyes on me, but I couldn't care less, my brother was one of the three pieces I missed from home.

"Nao!" He calls out, running towards me, enveloping me into a hug. It felt nice, and I didn't want him to let go.

"How long has it been? Three months?" He asks, pulling back, and I nod.

"Woah, two Naos?" I hear a voice say from behind me, and I turn and see the Host Club.

"Yeah, this is my twin brother Dan Lester," I say, and Dan holds up a hand. "Hi," he says, and the Host Club nods in return.

"You guys look pretty identical," the twins say, "is that how you're able to tell us apart, Nao? You've had experience?"

"Nope, you guys aren't all identical, even though identical twins, and you have different ways of standing, personality, etc."

I look at my brother, he's about 3 inches taller than me, and he has sharper features. He never had to wear glasses, and if you googled 'male haircut' on google, that's what his hair looked like. He has a white polo shirt on, and a pair of khakis. "We aren't identical," my brother says, "but we closely resemble each other." I finish, and we both laugh.

"Why didn't we know you had a twin Nao?" Tamaki says, and I shrug. "It never came up, I guess."

"Yeah right, you were just embarrassed to mention me," my brother says laughing, mussing up my hair.

"Cut it out! Just because your hair is shorter than mine, doesn't mean my longer hair is easier to tame!" I say, slapping his hand away.

"I guess we don't have to know what Nao looks like without glasses anymore," Kyoya says, hand on his chin. "Kyoya, the real question is when we get to see you with your glasses off. Wouldn't that classify as character development, Renge?" I ask, turning towards her, as she nods. "That would be a great scene!" She says, and Kyoya glares at me.

"Ok, so the little cutie over there is Honey, the tall tree next to him is Mori, the boy with short brown hair is Haruhi, the twins are Hikaru and Kaoru, the other glasses guy who is glaring at me is Kyoya, and the tall blonde guy is Tanuki (raccoon dog)."

"I am not a raccoon dog!" He says angrily, and we all laugh.

"Let's talk more later, no one here speaks Spanish, and I would say we could talk in French but Tanuki is Frasian," I say in Spanish to my brother, and he nods. "I heard someone say Tanuki!" Tamaki says, but I wave my hand at him disregardingly.

"Get this, tall blonde is trying to make us all call him Daddy," I say in Spanish, and Dan snorts in laughter.

"What a perv," he replies, and I nod.

"Time to start filming!" Someone calls out, and we all go to the set.

* * *

The rain falls from the side, and you can hear my shoes make _squelch_ sounds as I run through the wet grass, and I stop at a tree. My hair is messy and wild, falling out of the ponytail, and I'm breathing heavily, leaning against the tree.

I look up at the sky, running my fingers through my hair. "I-I didn't think," I say in between heavy breaths, "that my family could possibly find me here. B-but how? T-they can't afford it, we c-came from a small town and we were never rich." Tears start leaking from my eyes, and that wasn't apart of the script. I haven't cried in forever... "I-I can't shake them loose," I say, sliding down to the base of the tree. "I want to stay here with my friends, I've grown to love them so much, and I don't want to leave them!" I cry out, putting my head in my hands. I must be crying because I'm high on emotions, thank god my makeup is waterproof.

"A-and I've sacrificed so much for this life, I've told lies to get here, and there's now turning back, an-and," I say, before bursting into sobs.

"Cut! Cut! Perfect, this works perfectly!" A voice says, and the rains stops pouring, but the tears down my face keep going.

"I-I can't do this! I'm going!" I cry out, taking the edge of my sleeve, wiping my eyes. I can't waste good makeup on tears, and I tears are stupid. I need to be strong.

"Nao!" My brother calls out, but I just walk away. "Call me later, Dan," I say, before leaving the set.

I left my bag in the Music Room, and my shoes make squishing noises with every step I take, leaving a trail of water.

I walk into the Host Club room, and it's dark. I walk to the couch where my bag is, and I fall face first into the couch, and I cry.

I haven't cried for a while, but this was needed. I've sacrificed so much for attending this school, seeing my brother, being Kako, swimming, not lying, Maaya, etcetera. But, if I didn't do this, I would be suffering so much, in a loveless marriage as a Mama, not trying to achieve my dreams.

The Host Club's door creaks open, closes, than I hear footsteps.

"Nao?" I hear a voice say, and I turn and see Ritsu. "Man, you look like shit," he says, and I laugh softly, with a small hiccup.

"I know, I know," I say, and he kneels beside the couch. "Wanna talk about it?" He asks, and I think.

"I-I don't know," I say, and he sighs. "Well, let's exchange stories, deal? I'm not the best at comforting people, so I'll go first," he says, and I nod, before wiping away at my watery eyes. He awkwardly puts his hand on my back, and starts rubbing circles. "What are you doing?" I ask, and he looks away. "I was told this is how you comfort people, I can stop if you wa-" he says, lifting his hand up. "No, please, continue," I say, and he puts his hand back, and continues rubbing circles.

"You know I'm in a yakuza, right?" He asks, and I nod. "I've been really stressed lately, because this other yakuza group that we thought was small, turned out to be bigger than we thought. They've been infiltrating other yakuza groups, and forcing them to joint with their group, and sources say they plan on overthrowing the Japanese gov. And, to make it worse, they had some hackers make their worth seem smaller than it actually is, to make themselves to seem weak. It's about...152,700,000.00 yen. About 1,500,000 American dollars, and that's a lot of money."

"What's their yakuza group called?" I ask, and he laughs softly.

"Ridiculous name, powerful yakuza."

"And it's...?"

"It's called Vines and Roses."

"I gotta go," I say, quickly standing up, taking my bag.

"Shit, are you in V and R?" He asks, and I shake my head no. "I have...history, but not directly, don't worry, thanks for comforting me," I say, opening the door and turning to the left, and I see the Host Club, minus Haruhi.

"We've been listening to your conversation, what's going on?" Kyoya says, crossing his arms.

"I ain't telling you shit," I say, trying to walk past them, but Mori steps in front of me.

"Nao," Mori says, and I look up at him, tears beginning to flood my eyes. "Please Mori, let me go," I say, and Mori's eyes soften. "We can't let you," Honey says, and I step back from them.

"You guys would never believe me, it sounds like a cruddy fanfiction," I say, looking at the ground with my hair covering my eyes, and Tamaki shakes his head.

"We'd understand, we're your secondary family," Tamaki says, and I look up from under my hair at all of them. They'd never understand.

"Fuck family," I say, and their mouths slightly open. I swear when I joke around, but I never swear to be directly mean to someone. "Family is the people who got me into this hell hole, and I can't do anything with my life because of them. You all mean so much more than family, just know that. Now I'm going!" I quickly sprint around the Host Club, as they try to block me.

I easily dodge the Host Club, but Mori is the only one left in my way. He's in a defensive position, but his legs are open, and he's standing right on my watery footprints.

I continue to run, before I dive into the water footprints, and I slide in between Mori's legs, before I stand up and I continue running. I hear footsteps behind me, but I increase my speed and they fade.

I run out on to the campus of Ouran, and I run out of the gates and to the closest place, where I know I'll be safe from the Host Club.

I run to the apartment block, and to Haruhi's door, where I knock, and Ranka opens.

"Who are you?" She asks, "N-nao Araki," I stutter, "I need to see Haruhi."

"I'm leaving for work, no funny business, alright? I like your cousin a lot, she's very polite, so say hi to her later," Ranka says, stepping to the side and letting me in the apartment. "Thanks," I say, and Ranka gives me a small smile, before leaving and closing the door.

"Nao? What are you doing here?" Haruhi asks, and I burst into tears.

"What happened?" She says, running towards me, holding me in her arms.

"A-am I a bad person?" I ask, looking into Haruhi's eyes, and they soften.

"No, Nao, what did someone say to you? What did you do?"

"I-I am running from my past, a-and I yelled at the H-Host Club, and I feel re-really bad and I hurt their feelings, a-and I never meant-t too," I say, "and I-I never meant to be mean."

"Would you like to spend the night?" Haruhi says, and I nod.

"You can go to the bathroom and freshen up if you want," she says, and I nod, before walking to the bathroom. I look in the mirror, and I look like a mess, but my make up is still intact, so I still look like Nao.

Haruhi steps into the bathroom next to me, and gives me a hug.

" _Take a moment to think of just  
_ _Flexibility, love, and trust,"_ Haruhi sings, stroking my hair. Her voice is calming, and I close my eyes. _  
_ _"Take a moment to think of just  
_ _Flexibility, love, and trust."_ I steady my breathing, and she continues to stroke my hair.

 _"Here comes a thought  
That might alarm you  
What someone said and how it harmed you," _my breathing is steadied, and Haruhi rocks me slightly, still stroking my hair, and I relax.  
 _"Something you did that failed to be charming_  
 _Things that you said are suddenly swarming,"_ I think back to what I said to the Host Club, and I cringe slightly.

 _"And, oh, you're losing sight, you're losing touch  
All these little things seem to matter so much  
That they confuse you_  
 _That I might lose you,"_ She sings, and I slowly wrap my arms around her.

 _"Take a moment, remind yourself  
To take a moment and find yourself_  
 _Take a moment and ask yourself_  
 _If this is how we fall apart,"_ she stops rocking me, and strokes my hair, as tears silently run down my cheeks.  
 _"But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not_  
 _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay_  
 _You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear_  
 _I'm here, I'm here, I'm here,"_ she finishes, and I pull away from her hug. I trust her.

"Haruhi, c-can you keep a secret?" I ask, and she nods. "D-do you swear on your life?" I say, wiping away my tears.

"I swear on my life, and my mother's grave," she says solemnly, and I nod.

I look at the counter, and pick up the makeup wipes. Haruhi looks at me confused, and I take one out.

 _"Here comes a thought_  
 _That might alarm me,"_ I sing, taking off my glasses and putting them on the counter.  
 _"What someone said and how it harmed me_  
 _Something I did that failed to be charming_  
 _Things that I said are suddenly swarming,"_ I wipe off my forehead and eyebrows, and look at Haruhi through the mirror. She looks confused still.

 _"And, oh, I'm losing sight, I'm losing touch_  
 _All these little things seem to matter so much_  
 _That they confuse me_  
 _That I might lose me,"_ I sing, wiping off my cheeks, chin and eyes, and when I look in the mirror I see a sad-looking Kako, and Haruhi's softened expression.

"Nao, what's going on?" Haruhi asks, and I turn around and look at her. "Haruhi, I told you I was running from my past," I say, and I take off my Ouran jacket that's soaked, and I'm only wearing pants and my white button up, and I slightly unbutton the top.

"May I?" I ask, and she slowly nods. I unbutton the rest of the shirt, only leaving me in a undershirt and the pants, and I take off my undershirt, to reveal me in a sports bra and ACE bandaging.

"You're a girl?" She asks, and I nod, when we hear a big crumbling noise, and Haruhi covers her ears.

"What's the matter?" I ask, "Are you afraid of rain?"

"N-no, thunder," she says, and I nod.

 _"Take a moment, remind yourself_  
 _To take a moment and find yourself,"_ I sing softly, holding Haruhi close to me, and she closes her eyes.  
 _Take a moment and ask yourself_  
 _If this is how we fall apart,"_ we sing together, and I rub my eyes.  
 _"But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not_  
 _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay_  
 _You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear_  
 _I'm here, I'm here, I'm here,"_ Haruhi hugs me back, and we rock each other.

 _"And it was just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought_  
 _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay_  
 _We can watch, we can watch, we can watch, we can watch them go by_  
 _From here, from here, from here,"_ we sing softly, and Haruhi completely relaxes.

 _"Take a moment to think of just_  
 _Flexibility, love, and trust_  
 _Take a moment to think of just_  
 _Flexibility, love, and trust,"_ I sing by myself, and Haruhi's eyes open.

"Can you stay with me? And tell me why...?" She trails off, and I get the hint.

I pick up my shirt and jacket, and we walk to Haruhi's room, her hand in mine, and we sit on her bed.

"What should I tell you?" I ask, and Haruhi looks me in the eyes. "Everything, from the beginning." A loud clap of thunder sounds outside, and Haruhi squeezes my hand. I grab my bag, and pull out my mp3 player, and give Haruhi an earbud, and I play calming music. "Better?" I ask, and she nods.

"You, you can see the scar on my chest, right?" I ask, tracing the light scar on my chest, and Haruhi nods.

"Well..."

* * *

"Daddy? What are you doing with a bunch of money?" I ask, looking at my daddy. "Nothing darling, go back to bed, it's past 10:00, and it would not be fun if you were sleepy," my daddy shoos me away with the flick of his hand, and I go back to bed. I was 3 years old.

Every once in a while, I'd see my dad go back to the same spot and take more money, and I would hear him cry out angrily when there wasn't any left. Soon, I saw him taking pieces of paper, and I found out a fancy word to describe these pieces of paper. Deeds.

Now, about 5 years later, Daddy ran out of these magical papers, and he would go out later and later, and my mommy was even more scared later at night. One night, Daddy had a bunch of men come over to our house late at night. They brought funny items with them, long, white and orange sticks that poofed out smoke, cards, brown bottles, and lots of money.

My daddy didn't have any money, but he had us watch. By us, I mean mommy, brother and I. My mommy was crying the whole time, but my brother fell asleep. I was the only one avidly watching. Strange thing, all the men had matching tattoos of pretty flowers and leaves.

After an hour of playing with these strange items, daddy started yelling again, before he pointed at my mommy, brother and me. The men started talking, and pointed at me.

"Get o'er here Kakooooo," my daddy slurred, and I walked over to him. "Yes daddy?" I ask. "Say hello to 'ese nice men," he says, and I turn towards them. They don't look nice at all, they look very scary. "Hello!" I say cheerfully. "What do the pretty flowers and leaves on your arm mean?" I say, pointing to their left arms. One of them grins at me, and he's missing teeth. "We're all one big family," he says, and I smile. That's not so bad, a big family sounds like a nice family.

A scary man looks at my daddy. "We want the boy," he says, and my dad shakes his head. "Take the girl, she can be a whore or a bride or something when she's older."

"We don't want a little girl who looks like she can snap easily. She a pretty one, that's for sure, but she looks so fragile and gentile. Even though we can be asses, and we are in the yakuza, we know a bad idea when we see one, and she is a bad idea."

"Listennnn," my daddy says, "bring the next godfather over for a playdate or somethin' tomorrow, if he likes her, can she become his bride in the future, and all my debts will be repaid? If not, you can have the boy."

"Deal, he's 11 years old and hard to please. Good luck!" The men laugh, before leaving. I look back at my mommy, and she fell asleep.

"Let's go to your room, Kako darling," my daddy says, and I nod, walking to my room. When I enter, my dad closes the door behind us and locks it, before sitting on my bar. He has a broken brown glass bottle in his hand.

"Yooooouuuuu, are not your brother! You are worthless!" He screams at me, and I cower against the light pink walls of my room. "You are far prettier, gentler and more innocent than your brother, but those things are broken easily and quickly become WooooRThless!" He roars, thrashing his arms around. I had on my favorite princess pajamas, and they were slightly too big on the shirt, but that was okay, it was like a V-neck.

When Daddy was thrashing his arms around, he let go of the broken brown glass bottle, and it hit the wall next to me.

"Daddyyyyy!" I scream, and my daddy looks at me with wide eyes. "Shit," he mutters, before walking over to me. "There ain't a scratch on you! Why are you crying!"

"Because y-you threw a bottle at me, and it could've scratched me a-and hurt me," I whimper, and a malicious grin comes on to his face.

"Kako, you are so gentle, you could be easily broken," he says, picking up a shard of glass.

"I-I don't want to be broken," I say, before I see him taking the shard of glass and running it across my chest, before I black out.

The next day, I woke up with white bandaging across my chest, and daddy was gone at 'work.' But, I had a playdate! I got dressed in my favorite t shirt, which is yellow and has a bumblebee on it, with pink shorts.

The door bell rang, and I ran down the stairs and opened the door. A handsome boy a few years older than me was behind the door, with curly black hair and bright, blue eyes that looked bored.

"Hello!" I say cheerfully. "I'm Kako."

"Kei."

"Hey! Isn't that funny!" I say, and he gives me a weird look. "How is my name funny?"

"Well, my name means lucky or blessed, and that's also your name too! Except mine is spelled all wonky, maybe my daddy was drunk like he always is when he named me..." I trail off, and Kei barks out a laugh.

"Your father is the reason I'm here, which is going to be extremely boring. You are a child, and don't know how to do anything."

"Nuh-uh! I can do a tonnnnnn of things!" I say, arching my back over and doing a backbend. "See?" I say, and he shrugs. "Meh."

"Well, what can you do, huh?" I ask, and he thinks.

"I can shoot a gun with 80% accuracy."

"But how is that going to be fun? I don't shoot guns for fun," I say, and he smirks slightly, before looking at my chest.

"You're bleeding," he says, and I look down.

"Oh, I guess I am. Too bad it's on my favorite shirt, but I'll take care of it later," I say, and he looks at me with wide eyes.

"What? Why don't you go fix it? If people saw a 7 year old bleeding, they might be concerned."

"I'm not vain about my appearance, and I'm 8 years old, thank you very much. The only person who would be concerned would be my brother, but he's at a friend's house. I'll just tell people it's ketchup too."

"Your vocabulary is pretty large for an 8 year old," he says with a smirk, leaning against the door way. "I hope it would be, I'm reading high schooler books."

"Why are you bleeding from your chest?" He asks, and I huff. "You know how to get people talking, don't ya'?" I ask with an arched brow, and he barks out a laugh. "You're pretty smart, I'll admit. Okay, I'll exchange a secret for you telling me why you're bleeding, deal?" He asks, and I nod.

"Okay than, what happened? Scratched yourself while playing with Barbies? Fell off a swingset?" He asks mockingly, and my face goes serious. "Daddy took a beer bottle glass shard and ran it across my chest while I begged for mercy."

His face goes slack. "Oh, ready to here my secret?"

"What?" I ask, and he smirks.

"I chose you, and I'm never giving up. You're interesting, Kako, keep it up."

He turns around, and walks to a black limo in my driveway, before the car drives off. All I could think about was that was the worst playdate ever.

* * *

I explain the beginning parts to Haruhi, than how I found out at the end of the school year and created a plan, leaving out parts about me hacking.

"So, you're Kako, and the real Nao is your brother Dan Lester?" She asks, and I nod. "Okay, continue," she says, and I continue with how I train. I leave out the parts about me hacking, and I get to the part where I'm looking for a job when Haruhi's phone rings.

"It's Tamaki," she says. "I'm not here, don't mention me, please," I say, and she nods. She answers his call, and puts him on speaker.

"Tamaki-senpai, what's up?" Haruhi asks. "Nao ran off, if you see him tell him to call us, we've been worried."

"What happened?" Haruhi asks.  
"We listened in on Nao's conversation, and we confronted him about it...than he ran off," Tamaki says, and Haruhi sighs.

"Call him yourself," she says, before hanging up and looking back at me. "Continue."

"So, since I'm living alone, I need cash and got a job, but since I can't sing with a male voice very well, I had to get a job as a girl, so I made up a new identity."

"You're also Akemi Watanabe?" She asks in shock "Yup, and the similar features would be explained through the fact we're cousins," I say, pushing my glasses up my nose.

"So that's why you're so good at makeup, you have lots of practice...why would you say you're allergic to contacts though, since Akemi's eyes are blue?"

"I don't like wearing contact lenses all the time, it irritates my eyes," I say with a shrug. "Glasses are easier to use too, and once a contact folded in my eye, so I only use it for Akemi, or when I'm swimming. I'm as blind as a bat!" I chuckle, and Haruhi nods in agreement.

"So why did you join the Host Club, then?"

"Eh, I was bored. I might as well do something, besides, since I purposely broke my wrist to quit swim, it would seem odd if I didn't do any activities to replace it."

"You purposely broke your wrist?!" She asks, and I nod. "Swimming requires me to wear a swim suit for guys, and I can't go around shirtless... The only logical way to not raise suspicion is to have an accident. The pinkie was an accident though, it was just supposed to be the wrist," I say with a laugh, and Haruhi shrugs.

"I guess that works, but why don't you seem shocked by the club's antics?"

"Rich people are just too much, like a wine glass overflowing with fine, it's just best to play along," I say, "even if it's completely and utterly ridiculous."

I pause, and take out an earbud, it sounds like the rain has stopped. "Sounds like the rain has stopped," I say, and Haruhi takes out an earbud. "I guess it has..." she says. "Wanna order a pizza? I'll pay with my club moola," I say with a wink, and she nods.

"How much money do you make weekly, if I may ask?" She asks, and I think.

"Well, I get paid every other week for my Akemi job, each hour is 1,600 yen plus about 2-4 thousand yen tips on each weekend night, so that's 38,400 yen plus 6 thousand yen in tips, meaning 44,400 yen. It's honestly not that much, I can pay rent monthly with it once the year's rent is all payed up. Host Club pays about 203,600 yen per month, which is 50,900 per week." (AN- So roughly 1,000 dollars per week, which is a lot, but don't forget the random hacking jobs too, and the computer software she has to buy. Also food and other supplies, and Kako/Nao/Akemi is also saving up for college)

"Wow," Haruhi says, and my phone starts ringing, and I look at it.

"Kyoya, should I answer?" I ask, and she looks at me. "Take a moment to think of just," she says, and I nod.

"Flexibility, love and trust," I finish, before pressing accept call, putting the phone by my ear.

"Hello?" I say. "Hello Nao, I'm talking to you one-on-one right now, so I'm going to ask you some questions," he replies, and I can practically see him pushing up his glasses on the other end, death note in other hand.

"What."

"What relations do you have with the yakuza V and R? We can't have yakuza members who plan on infiltrating the government in our club."

"Familiar name, I've read about them in the news where I used to live, and I've heard about the horrible things they've done. It kinda shocked me, I'm kinda sensitive to that stuff."

"That's okay my son! We're here for y-" Tamaki says on the other line, before his speech is cut off and muffled.

"I should've known," I say, rolling my eyes. "Since I'm figuring you guys are on speaker, I'd like to say sorry. My family, save for my brother and cousin, kinda suck, so I consider you guys as friends. I've been in a really bad mood lately, so don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"It's okay Nao!" Honey says on the other end of the line. "Yeah, we've never seen you cry before," the twins say, and I chuckle.

"You probably won't see me cry again either," I reply. "Well, we wanted to make sure you're okay, we'll see you Monday, the movie will be showing at the club!" Tamaki replies, and I hang up.

"Hey Haruhi, do you have any pads, I think the reason I've been crying a lot is I'm PMSing hard rn..." I trail off, and she nods.

"Be right back," she says, before going to the bathroom. My phone dings, and I see a text from my brother that he left for America already, and he's sorry we couldn't hang out before he left. I smile sadly, and reply that it's okay.

Haruhi came back, gave me the goods, and we ordered pizza. We talked all night, and I went home exhausted. I slept for 8 hours, went to work, rinsed and repeated until it was Monday morning, and I was exhausted.

But who knew this would only be the tip of the iceberg for my problems.

* * *

This seems like a good place to leave off :D School starts this week, so chapters will be shorter as I won't have as much time to write. So, yeah. Don't forget to head to the poll on my page and vote for who you want Nao/Akemi/Kako to end up with :D


	8. Chapter 8: Vines and Roses

Welcome back to the chapter, last time we left off Haruhi (spoilers to all chapter skippers) found out that Nao was actually a girl :0 and, Ritsu told Nao that his yakuza is having troubles with a certain mafia... that turns out to be more powerful than Nao thought. How will this end up?

Also, for clarification purposes, I'll write something up.

Kako-the MC's past, which she refers to when she's makeup less, looking like neither Nao or Akemi.

Nao-the person the MC has chosen to look like and be, for the sake of their future and the dreams they want to hold true.

Akemi-the person the MC wants to be (in a way), Akemi is not bound to hide her gender or secrets, she's just Akemi.

Depending on which POV the chapter leaves off on, that's how I'll refer to the before/after notes instead of / in between their names.

Also- 'Here comes a thought' was the song Haruhi and Nao sang together, it's from the cartoon on CN 'Steven Universe', and the show is pretty cute and has some really cute gay moments too, and makes me cry. 10/10 would watch again.

* * *

Today, I was back at school after the long weekend. Maaya had sent me new makeup this weekend, for Nao AND Akemi, which is amazing of her, so I changed all her bad test scores to 94%. I found a website where I can tutor students around the world and I got credentials and gift cards as pay, so on Sunday I tutored some troubled students in America with their Japanese problems, and I tutored some kid in Africa how to do Algebraic formulas.

I'm amazing, I know.

Girls greeted me when I came to school, telling me about their long weekends and such. Most went out of Japan on their private helicopters, one went shopping in Hawaii, and they seemed shocked when I told them I studied all weekend. Scholarships, gotta stay on top of it. I arrive to class, and everyone looks excited for something, except Haruhi looks confused. "What's going on?" I ask, walking over to where I sit, and Haruhi shrugs.

"Class, settle down!" The teacher says, walking into the room, and everyone sits down.

"Sensei, is it true our school has a new transfer student?" A girl calls out from the class, and people start whispering. I raise a brow, it's been a couple months.

"Yes, he is in the class 3-A, so you might not see him," the teacher says, and I can practically hear the guys sigh in relief, and the girls in sadness. Class starts, and I'm more focused on my notes than ever. Even though the Host Club and I made up, I was still frustrated with them, and I wanted to distract myself from thoughts of them eavesdropping on me. Especially, the fact about Vines and Roses...ACk! Focus!

The bell rung for lunch, and Haruhi and I went to the lunch table and sat in our regular spots.

"Nao! My soN!" Tamaki says, trying to hug me, but I stopped him by putting my hand on his head. "No hugs Tanuki."

"It's Tamaki!" He huffs out, sitting on his seat dramatically. "Nice to see you, though," I say, taking my hand off his head.

"Hello Nao," Kyoya says coolly, and I nod towards him. "Hey Nao," Hikaru says, walking to my right. "Us Hitachiins got you an apology gift."

"It's okay, I don't need a gift," I say, rubbing my temple with my fingers.

"Too bad!" They say, and put a box wrapped with purple wrapping paper in front of me.

"Do I have to," I mutter, pushing the box away from me. I was not one to be bribed...

"Yes! Or we'll be offended," they say mockingly, and I put my head down in defeat. I was never one to purposely offend someone, I have a heavy guilt problem, and they figured that out.

"Fine, better not be a box of dog shit," I take the box, carefully unwrapping it, and I can practically feel my eyes bulging out of my head when I saw the inside of the box.

"You got me an iPhone 6s?! Rose gold?!" I ask, holding up the box. "And it's 64 gigs? DamnNnn! Thank you so much!" I say, and they grin.

"Can we get a hug as repayment?"

"No." The smile falls off my face, and their jaw drops. "We just got you an iPhone, and you won't even hug us? Unbelievable! Can we at least come to your house to hang out as repayment?" They complain.

"No, my house is really small," I say, looking down embarrassed. Rich people can make you feel bad about ANYTHING.

"Well, how big is your house? The average commoner size is at least 3 bathrooms and 5 rooms," Tamaki says, "you might be just a bit under, and that's okay! We'll still be your friends, even if your house is about as big as a box." Tamaki says, and I face palm.

"Well..." I trail off, and I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see Honey holding a box, and Mori is behind him.

"Hey Honey, did you bring a boxed lunch today?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "This is for you! Mori and me picked it out!"

"Why, thank you Honey!" I say, rubbing his head affectionately, taking the box and opening it. Inside is a strawberry cake, and I'm drooling already. I close the lid and give him a smile

"I'll save it for later, thank you!" I say, bowing my head respectfully. "Why? Do-don't you like it?" Honey asks, tears forming in his eyes.

"N-no I love it!" I say, holding my hands up in a defensive manner. "I'll take it home tonight and share some with Akemi."

"Tell Akemi I said hello," Mori says, before going to sit in his chair, Honey following.

"What were you saying your house is like, Nao, my son?" Tamaki says, and I take out my bagged lunch.

"Well, it has a kitchen, a bedroom, and a small bathroom. You guys would probably not fit if you all came to visit, since most of you are hUGE men."

"WhAT?!" Tamaki, the Hitachiins, and Honey says.

"What about the dining hall? Where do you eat?" Tamaki asks, with a quivering lip.

"I have a small, two person table I eat at. It's in the kitchen." I say, and their jaws drop.

"Well, I have 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and a rec room, and the rec room is in the kitchen, so Nao's house is only a little smaller," Haruhi says, and I nod.

"Also, it's only me who lives there, so I don't need to worry about my parents or siblings, but Akemi occasionally visits, but doesn't stay overnight," I say, and everyone's jaws drop, except Kyoya and Haruhi. Mori's just slightly unhinges.

"Y-you live on your own? With no family with you?" Tamaki asks, before he bursts into dramatic tears. "Tha-that's so sad! We need to visit you all the time so you're no longer lonely!"

"No thanks, I have stuff I do all the time so I can't," I say. "What do you do? Your only job is Host Club," Kyoya says, notebook in hand.

"Well, I study, read, I'm working on learning French, I know like 50% of the language now...I do some tutoring online."

"Do you get paid for tutoring students?" Kyoya says, and I shake my head. "I do it as my volunteer credentials, which are necessary for graduating as a scholarship."

"Oh, yeah we don't have to do that. No need to integrate ourselves with commoners when unnecessary. No offense to both of you," Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses. Haruhi and I sweat drop, and I feel another tap on my shoulder. I turn around, and I had to practically keep my jaw shut closed.

There stood a boy with dark, black curly raven hair, a perfect jaw line, thick ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), pink lips, and a little mole under his right eye. His eyes are a warm brown, like churned chocolate, and they had this nice glow, like he was always happy.

I could see some muscle underneath his uniform, noice.

"Yes?" I say, hoping the makeup won't show my blushing. "Can I sit at the table too? I'm Makonra Ryo, but you all can call me Ryo. I'm a third year."

"Oh, you're in our class!" Honey says, and Ryo smiles with perfect, straight white teeth. "Yeah, I am."

"Yeah, you can totally sit at our table," I reply back, and he turns and looks in my eyes. He smiles brightly, "Thanks!" He says, before walking to the other end of the table and sitting by the Hitachiins. I look at Haruhi, and she winks at me, and I quickly blush. I put my left hand over my mouth.

'I'd go gay for him, he's so hot,' I mouth, and Haruhi nods in agreement, before taking her hand and putting it on the side of her mouth. 'I know right, he has so many muscles and a bulge! Good god, his smile too,' she mouths back, and I laugh.

"I like whispering too, what are we talking about," Tamaki whispers, looking at both of us as we sweatdrop. "Never mind," I say, pulling out the phone I got from the Hitachiins, and I slide it open.

"Oh yeah," Hikaru says from behind me, and I almost fall out of my seat. Weren't they just by Ryo? I look over there, and there was no Hita-twin in sight, hehe, pun.

"We got you a new number, since your old one is so old," Kaoru says, and I sweatdrop. The old one can still work, I can have it on my person as Akemi though and not look odd to the club...

"We programmed all our contacts, save for our Lord, on to the phone," he says, and we all look over at the tanuki, he was trying to flirt with the lunch lady at the counter in hopes of getting more fancy sauce, and it looked like it was working.

"Bless you both," I say, and they nod. "Would you bless us in your house?" They ask, smirks on face. "No."

They both frown, and walk back to their chairs. I quickly eat the apple I packed, and lunch ends.

===Le time skip de Hostu Clubu===

I walk into the Host Club later than I usually do, and I apologize quickly, before going to my station and talking with the ladies. I usually have 4 at a time, like today.

"Isn't the new transfer student so hot?" A read head in my group talks to 2 girls from across her.

"Yeah, he's also such a gentleman! Oh, I wish he would notice us second-years, what's your opinion about Ryo-kun, Nao-kun?"

"What did I tell you ladies about calling me Nao-kun? We're all friends!" I say with a warm smile, and hearts appear in their eyes. "You're so sweet Nao!" They call, and I look down, forcing a blush on my face.

"Well," I say, looking up. "Ryo seems pretty cool and nice, since he ate with us at lunch today. But between us, ladies," I lean in, and they all lean in closer to hear me.

"I agree he's pretty nice looking," I whisper, and they all jump back.

"Oh, how exciting!" They squeal, "It would be so nice if Ryo was in the Host Club," one of them says, and they all nod in agreement.

"Would you date Ryo-kun, Nao?" The red head asks, and I blush.

"I... don't think so. I'd love to become great friends with him, though! Friends are great to have and to rely on!" I say with a smile, and they all blush, putting their hands on their face.

"Omg! You're so sweet!" They say, and I smile. So glad I don't have to do romance shit with them, that'd be hard. They do most of the talking, and I input my 2 cents every once in a while, and they smile and squeal, ask my questions, than they rinse and repeat. Sometimes, girls come in and I tutor or help them with something for class, and Kyoya doesn't care because it's revenue for the club.

"What the heck is this Hikaru and Kaoru! When I left you doofs in charge of the club's website, I thought you'd take it seriously!" Tamaki shouts from across the room, holding up a computer. On it is an image of Haruhi shirtless from the back, but it's obviously been photoshopped.

"We take our job very seriously, boss," Hikaru says, rolling his eyes. "In fact, last night we worked on it till dawn," Kaoru rolls his eyes too, and Tamaki's face turns bright red. "Is this what you worked so hard to create?" He asks, and I calmly walk over to where they were.

"Tamaki, are you a bit jealous you saw things the twins didn't? Don't worry," I say, patting his cheeks. "one day, when you're the oldest grandfather around, you might be a sugar daddy to some, lonely poor girl." His jaw drops, and he starts throwing a fit as the twins are hunched over laughing.

"Besides, you think the twins acted alone? I made the rose background," I say with a smirk, and Tamaki falls to the ground dramatically.

"I-I couldn't help Haruhi..." he whispers, before his head falls limp. Figures. "You look great, Haru-chan!" Honey says, "Very nice." Mori says.

"Tamaki, just get up already. It's obvious that the photo's been altered," Hikaru says, rolling his eyes as Tamaki practically flips off the floor. "I-it was photoshopped?"

"They did a pretty good job, I see no fake, fuzzy looking lines," I say with a nod, and Tamaki looks shocked.

"You idiots! That's a waste of your skills! Have you no shame? But if you're going to do it anyway, can you photoshop her into this idol photo book? Hmm, please?"

"That's pretty shameful to ask for a photoshop instead of asking her herself..." I trail off, and Tamaki turns towards Haruhi like a deer in headlights. "You're right, I never thought about asking her..."

"You're treating Haruhi like a toy instead of a girl, go ask her," I say, shoving Tamaki towards Haruhi.

A crack appears in the doorway, and I see a shadow of a black blob.

"You want a toy? Toys... toys... If you like toys, then you should come and visit my black magic club. We've opened a marketplace that boasts black magic items from across the globe. We're also holding mass around the clock. If you visit right now, I'll even throw in a free curse doll. You could have Belzenef as your free gift."

"Hey Umehito!" I call out, waving towards the door. "Why are you talking to us through a crack? You can always come in."

"The real question is," Hikaru says, "has that door always been there?"

"You're right...what's with this anime and things randomly popping up?" I ask, but everyone ignores me. I must have said something that'll be cut in the final showing.

"Nekozawa-senpai likes to hide. He doesn't really care for brightly-lit places," Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses.

"Okay than," the Hita-twins say, before taking a flashlight and shining it at Nekozawa. Umehito flees from the room in a black flurry, and I scowl at the twins. I stomp over to them and smack them both on the head.

"Ow! What's that for!" They say, rubbing their heads where I hit them.

"Don't be asshats! That was a mean thing you did to Umehito, remember, he's your senpai and a peer. Do you want me to shine a flashlight in your eyes?" I say, and they slowly shake their heads no.

"Next time we see Umehito, I want you to apologize to Umehito like you mean it, take responsibility for your actions or... or else!"

They smirk, looking at each other. "Or what," they say tauntingly.

"I'll shove responsibility so far up your ass you'll taste tax bills for months!" I shout, and they both gulp. That's right boys, fear me. They briskly walk away, and hide behind Haruhi. I turn away, and look towards the door. "Inside is a room that has a set of staircases, and a hidden tunnel down to the basement of the North Campus, where Nekozawa's Black Magic Club takes place." Kyoya says, walking towards me.

"Really?" I ask, "Yes, there's tunnels all over Ouran, and few know about them, so it's useful when we get exports."

"Kyoya, do you have a secret drug channel that no one knows about it?" I ask, looking towards him. He smirks, and pushes up his glasses. "We all have our own hobbies."

"Wow! Shadow King made a joke!" I say, applauding. "Glad to know you're not a robot," I say, mock bowing, before marching off. I have no more reservations for the rest of the day.

"Hey Nao," Haruhi says, "The twins want us to play their dumb game."

"Fineeeeeee," I say, dragging my feet over to where the twins stand. "Take it away."

"Which one is Hikaru game! If one of you lose, we both get to go over to both of your houses."

"Fine, I'll go first," Haruhi says. They put on their hats, and run around a bit before turning back around. "Which is Hikaru?

"Hikaru is on the right, Kaoru is on the left."

"Wrong! We can go to your hou-"

"Nope-o you doofies," I say. "Haruhi is right."

"How did you do that, Haruhi? Whenever they wear those hats to cover which way they part their hair, it's practically impossible to try and figure out which twin is Hikaru and which one is Kaoru," a girl at a table nearby asks.

"Hmmm, oh, how do I put it? It's kind of difficult to explain, but Hikaru's speech and actions make him come across a little more mischievous than Kaoru," Haruhi says, and Kaoru snickers.

They argue, and I shush them. "You guys are both asshats, except Hikaru's a mischievous asshat when Kaoru is an arrogant asshat," I say, and they both stick their tongues out at me. "We aren't asshats!"

"Awesome, this is just perfect! Our beloved Haruhi is in the middle of a beautiful, yet poignant five-sided romantic relationship. And to make it even more exciting, two of Haruhi's admirers are twins torn apart by love. Just the thought of it could make me eat three bowls of rice!" Renge says, appearing out of nowhere.

"Butt out otaku!" The twins say.

"Sorry Renge, it's four sided. I'm not really interested in dating guys. Or girls. Or anyone, I just like being friends, with people, not lovers or whatever." She frowns at my comment.

"You guys are meanies. You shouldn't say something like that to your manager," she says pouting.

Tamaki starts complaining, and Renge explains how she was going to start a Host Club in France but the world isn't ready for that yet, and the twins start arguing.

"I'm out, bye." I say, walking out. I know the twins are fake-fighting, my brother and I'd do that occasionally to get what we wanted from our parents. They would say 'yes' or 'no' depending what we were fighting about, so we did that to win on our side. They probably want to come to Haruhi and my house.

I went home, and plugged the iPhone into the computer, and searched it for possible viruses or trackers, or anything suspicious. Nothing on it, except they put something where they can monitor my search history, which I removed from my phone. I don't want them to see what I do on the internet at one in the morning.

Watching 'How to rub your pumpkin properly.'

I do my homework for the day, read a book, practice my French, and go to bed. I didn't eat, because I was stuffed from Host Club! They always give me so much food to eat with my guests...

-Time skip to next morning-

I'm in class, talking with Haruhi, when Hikaru walks up to us.

"Hey Haruhi, Nao. Good morning."

Haruhi looks really confused, "Why is your hair pink?"

"Hey Stephanie, where's Sportacus?" I ask sarcastically, but Hikaru ignores me.

"'Cause pink suit me. Don't you think it's cute? From now on, I'm the pink haired twin. I didn't wanna be mistaken for that Kaoru for the rest of my life, you know." Kaoru walks into the room, and I snort. "There's Sportacus! You guys match perfectly now!" I say, laughing, before I fall out of my chair. Ouch.

"Good morning, Haruhi, Nao."

"So, Kaoru's the blue twin?" Haruhi asks, and I shrug. "I guess."

"I was finally able to sleep all by myself last night. But I ended up having a nightmare. I dreamt that my stylist had dyed my hair pink. It was so garish and ridiculous looking I woke up screaming," Kaoru says snarkily, and Hikaru sticks his tongue out.

"Yeah, yeah, yada yada. I know what's going on here," I say, and they raise an eyebrow. "You do?"

Eh, this is kind of funny, so I'll let it go on. I see what they're trying to pull here.

Their jaws drop. "Really?" They ask at the same time, before glaring at each other. This is obnoxiously fake...

"You're fighting over who should be Haruhi's lover!" I say, and they just slowly shake their heads no.

We make it to lunch somehow, and the twins argue over the same lunch.

"God! They still are in sync when fighting! Just take my lunch!" I say, shoving my bagged lunch in Kaoru's face.

"What's this," he says, "wait, is this a-"

"Yes, it's a chocolate pop tart," I say, and he pulls it out of the foil. "Eat it, there's an apple. I'll just take your old lunch..." I say, dragging the spaghetti to my side of the table, and I eat it. So good!

"I want a poptart too! But not Kaoru's!" Hikaru says, and I give him a thumbs up. "I'll give you one tomorrow if you be a good doggy and behave."

He sweatdrops, before he snatches the poptarts out of Kaoru's hands. They start fighting, but I just stand up with my bowl of spaghetti, and I sit by some customers. They're really happy I sat at their table, and I continue to eat. "No poptart for bad doggy..." I mutter, as I see the boys throw stuff at each other from the corner of my eye.

The bell rings for classes, and I ignore the twins until it's time for the Host Club. I sit in a corner and read, as they have this dramatic curse battle, and Haruhi finds out they were faking.

"Yes! Now we can go to Haruhi's house!" They cheer, "Now it's time for Nao to say yes."

"No chance~" I say with a sing-song voice. "I knew from the beginning you guys were fighting to get what you want, it's a twin thing." They throw their heads back and groan. "Besides! I still haven't given my answer for the game officially, and I want to give you more reasoning instead of you both being asshats so you'll leave me alone on this matter."

"Hey Nao, can I come to your house? I won't pull any tricks! Pinkie promise!" Tamaki says, and I shake my head no. "Sorry senpai, but you can't enter Hell's gates and expect to escape."

His jaw opens, and I giggle. He looks at me confused, "Did you just giggle?"

"Sorry, I do that when I'm a-" I look behind Tamaki, confused. Did I see what I think I just saw, the twins starting to realize they're their own persons? The glimmer in their eye for a split second, the speck of realization. I look in Tamaki's eye, and he looks almost...proud?

"Back off Tamaki." I say, standing up and pushing him away. "Hey, Hita-twins! We can meet up for coffee, but you can't come to my house."

"Works for us!" They call back, grinning ear to ear.

"What was that for?" Tamaki asks, and I think for a moment. "It's nice to see people smile, isn't it?" I ask, turning around and facing him. "You play the baka role quit fittingly, phasing in and out of it but I see you are starting to overflow, Tamaki-senpai, and you're fake-baka role is catching up to you. The twins, you've always been able to tell them apart. Am I right, or am I right?"

"Uh-uh what?" He stutters nervously, and I shake my head. "You've just pretended to think of them as the same, so they grow on their own without your help, since you already shoved them half out the nest."

"Aha, you're interesting, Nao, keep it up," he says with a half smile, a goofy expression on his face. and I feel fear creep up my spine. My eyes widen, and I put my hand over my chest as the scar throbs. "Nao? My son? A-Are you okay?" He asks, concern creeping on his face. His words ring in my ears, and I stumble backwards. He reaches his hand towards me, and I temporarily flash back to when my father took a glass shard, and raised it to strike me. The raven haired boy from my childhood flashes in my eyes, and to dispel it I quickly blink my eyes, and slap his hand away.

"Nevermind all that diddly squat, I have things to go and places to eat," I say, before I pick up my bag. "Farewell," I say, before striding out, leaving the Host Club in a state of confusion.

 **3rd person quick switch**

The moment that Nao left the Host Club, Tamaki began to have thoughts run across his head. He had always believed Kyoya was the smartest one here, but, was it actually Nao? He figured out that he knew which twin was which already, and Kyoya has been here longer than Nao. Nao...Nao was different than most people. He was up-in-your-face but also so far away. The way he knew how he felt and how he acts can be an act or not an act, it's all so confusing. Tamaki always could ask Akemi, but she was like Nao. The family must be very odd...

Mori thought Nao looked very strong in that moment, and his thoughts drifted off to Akemi. Mori believes Akemi is very, very pretty. Almost like a delicate flower, Mori would protect her to his best abilities.

Honey thought of Akemi almost as a big sister, and Nao as a little brother who tried acting like a big brother. He wants to keep it this way, they were like family to him (A/N-sorry, this means that Honey won't be the love interest :O I've been trying to set up the story where Honey is like a family member, so their closeness will bring something else later on. Big plans, don't worry)

The Hita-Twins were glad they chose Nao as a toy, after all it's more interesting when things bite back.

Kyoya has always thought that Nao and Akemi were odd, and had similar personalities, but once he found out they grew up together, their similar personalities made sense. Because, growing up together, they'd obviously influenced eachother. But, the bite-back nature they both share is normal for Nao, but in a girl, of all things, Akemi, is even odder. The only person who seems to have resisted the Host Club's flirtations is Haruhi, and she hasn't seemed to fall for any of the members. But unlike Haruhi, who is more reserved, Akemi isn't afraid to speak her mind. Akemi is nice to everyone, even if they are odd, and Nao protects the weak, even if they are odd. Kyoya does admire these traits, it promotes good behavior of the club, but Kyoya wondered what Akemi looks like without the wig...He's pretty confident he's the only one who knows the hair is fake. It took him a while, but he noticed the wig was slightly shifted the second time he met Akemi.

Ritsu, a few floors down and a building over, is feeling guilty. Guilty for making Nao run off, who seems to be his only friend. And not only that, but he was crying. A man only cries when shit is up. Little did Ritsu know that he had developed a small, sliver of a crush on Nao, but he shakes off these thoughts because a mafia's godfather can't be gay! But, he rather liked Nao's cousin, Akemi. She was nice to him, and ignored his scary face.

Haruhi knows Nao's secret, and she'll keep it with her life. She does admit, the more she stares at Nao's face, she can see more feminine looks than her brother, Dan, but she does a magnificent job with her makeup. Haruhi does find Dan slightly handsome, but she never had a chance to talk to him and befriend him. Oh well.

But...Ryo. Ryo's thoughts are so messy, cluttered and a swirling mess, that the Author can't even begin to describe them in the 3rd person POV part of the chapter.

Umehito, well, he likes cats, curses, and Nao's funny personality, and his interest in listening to him talk about curses and cats and not find him too odd.

* * *

 **BACK TO THE FUTURE AND NAO**

Classes for the rest of the week are pretty boring, and it was finally, finally Friday! Tamaki felt bad he didn't give me a sorry gift, but he gave me a LifeProof phone case that's bright pink. I rejected it at first, but he says a maid got the wrong phone case for his phone model, so it's just laying around. It was chilly this morning so I brought a hoodie, but it's warmed up so I didn't need it. I'm by the front gate, and I feel the sunshine on my skin and I hear the birds chirping. It's a beautiful day! That means good vibes are coming my way, I can't wait to-

"Target-" a voice says, and I look to my left and see Honey. "-captured!"

"Whaut?" I ask, and I feel Mori's hand on my shoulder. I try walking away, but his grip is soft, yet firm like iron.

"Whatever, I'll walk with you guys wherever you're going, can you let go though?" I ask, looking at Mori. He nods, and lets go. Before I have a chance to run, a limo pulls up and the window rolls down, revealing Tamaki.

"Get in, we're going shopping," he says, and I laugh. "Was that a Mean Girls ref?" I ask, and he nods excitedly.

"You watched the movie too?! I absolutely loved it, except I know the real maker of Toaster Strudel and he does NOT have a daughter named Gretchen-" Tamaki blabbers, and I shush him.

"I'll come if you stop with Mean Girls, it's a movie, not reality," I say, opening the door and getting inside. I pull out my phone, and text Miyako from my new iPhone-courtesy of the Hitachiins, that I can't go to work today, before I delete the chat group.

We stay still for a few moments, before Haruhi gets in the car with the Hitachiins. "What's going on?" She asks, and I shrug.

Kyoya gets in the car, and we're in the positions we sit in at lunch, when the car stops. The driver opens the door for us, and we're in a tropical dome?

"Wha...? I ask, and a tropical bird squawks off in the distance. "Did I just hear a parrot?" I call out, but everyone ignores me. "Wait a minute. Am I dreaming? We're in Japan, right? And Japan is not really known for its tropical locals," Haruhi asks.

"Where's the exit? I don't like water," I say, and everyone looks at me oddly.

"Weren't you on a swim team?" Kyoya asks, and I laugh. "It was a joke, but I'm honestly sick of swimming. So I might just sit by the pool," I say.

"Try to make the most of this down time and just relax. We're so worried about keeping our good looks day and night. We deserve a little vacation," Tamaki says, grabbing a pair of sunglasses and putting them on his face. "Lol, what good looks are you talking about Tanuki?" I ask, and he angrily stomps his foot.

"Personally I think this is pointless and a waste of time, so can I go home now? I should really be studying and I've got ton of laundry to do today. Kyoya, where are we, anyway?" Haruhi asks, and I nod in agreement. "Haruhi, we ain't in Kansas anymore," I say with a country accent, and she looks deadpan at me.

"We live in Tokyo, Japan, Nao. You're a scholarship student. Get your geography and your priorities straightened out," she says seriously, and I laugh.

"This place is a brand new theme park that my family, the Ootori group runs. It's called the Tropical Aqua Garden," Kyoya says, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I don't understand. I thought the Ootori group ran hospitals and that they're focused on the medical business, Kyoya senpai." Haruhi asks, looking confused.

"Yes, but my family likes to diversify and try different things. Besides this place could be classified as a healing facility.  
It's therapeutic. Think of all the people who are overworked and would just love a vacation in the south tropics. However, they may not be able to get the time off or they may not be able to afford it. Those people can now seek refuge here at this theme park and reduce their stress levels. The Ootori group's primary concern has always been for the good health and well-being of the general public."

"Nao-chan, do you want to have cake with me? Mango? Coconut? Pineapple?" Honey asks, holding up 3 kinds of cakes. "No thanks Honey, I'm gonna make some margaritas! I've practiced, trust me," I say, recalling an event where I had to help Miyako make margaritas at the bar (A/N-I'll have Nao flash back to things that happened that I didn't write to fill plot holes).

"The bar is over there," Kyoya says, and I walk to the bar. Now, I don't have to go swimming!

I made everyone margaritas, which ironically, respond to their rose colors. "Hey Tamaki," I ask, as I pass him his cherry margarita, "why don't I have a rose color yet?"

He almost drops the margarita, "I guess we forgot, since you're the friendly type you can be yellow!" "'Kay," I say, before making myself a lemon margarita. I honestly don't care about roses, but now, I can finally have girls stop asking me what my color is. And, lemon is pretty freaking refreshing.

Haruhi walks up to me in a cute, ruffled bikini. "Dammmmnnn Haruhi, nice bikini, it's really cute..." I trail off, and Tamaki jumps in front of her, blocking me from her view. "Don't look at my daughter in her bare, defenseless skin!" He says, and I roll my eyes. I wish I could wear a bikini...

"Yo, there's swim suits for you in the guy's locker room," the twins say, and I nod, grabbing my bag as I walk to the guy's locker room.

Inside are different types of swim suits, from trunks to speedos. Imagine if I walked out in just a speedo... yikes.

I put on a pair of swim trunks that are black and white beach stripes, and I take off my shirt quickly, with just my regular undershirt on underneath, and I put on my green hoodie over it. I put my hair in a messy ponytail, thank god I put on no-run and waterproof make up on today, or else I would pull a Wicked-Witch-of-West and I'd melt into the pool...

I walk out, and the guy's jaws drop. "Do I look like shit?" I ask, and they shake their heads. "Why are you wearing a hoodie? It's so hot out?" The twins ask.

"Why aren't you asking that to Haruhi?" I say, pointing at her. She's wearing a banana yellow hoodie, with some boardwalk shorts.

"She's a girl, she can't be showing so much skin!" Tamaki says, and I sweat drop. I walk up to where he's standing at the pool edge, and I push him in. "What was that for?!" He asks, popping out of the water. "For being a sexist pervert to Haruhi," I say, and he splashes me from the pool.

"Nao-chan, why wear the hoodie?" Honey asks. "Honestly, I have some scars that I'm not very interested in showing. No biggie, just some accident from when I was a kid," I say with a shrug, and Kyoya pushes up his glasses.

"What was the accident?" He asks. "I fell on to a bunch of broken glass," I say, and everyone winces.

"Sorry," Tamaki says, and I look at him confused. "Did you cause it? Hun, no you didn't. So don't say sorry."

The twins look at eachother, and whisper loudly, "He sounds like a sassy gay."

My eyes blaze on fire, and I look at Mori and nod. He catches my drift, and he walks over to them, picks them up, and throws them in the pool. I high five Mori, "Your margaritas taste good," he says, before walking back over to Honey.

"Wooh! Pool! I hate swimming!" I say, pumping my fist into the air. I go get my book from my bag, and I sit by the pool deck and read it. My feet are in the water, and I feel at peace.

It's probably an hour later, when I feel 4 hands push me in, and I quickly throw my book on to the deck, and I'm waist-deep into the pool. "You guys suck," I say, sticking my tongue out at the Hitachiins. "Revenge is sweet!" They chorus back at me, before giving each other a high five. I roll my eyes, and push off the wall slightly, and I start kicking my feet. I've always been a kicker during swim, so the twins got super soaked ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

"Hey, you got us wet!" They cry out, and I swim to the wall and push myself up. "No shit Sherlock," I say, standing up. Than, I push them back into the pool, I grab my book and ran for my life, and into a chair next to Kyoya.

"Why run here?" He asks, typing on his computer. "Thou shallst not disrupt thy Shadow King, unless thou wishes to die a million deaths," I say, and he glares coldly at me. "Just kiddingith, the twins won't come over here and splash me if you're here." I say, resuming my place in my book.

Renge pops out of nowhere, and talks about her cosplay outfit, and she's wearing a bikini.

"Cute bikini Renge!" I shout out, and she turns towards me and blushes. "Thanks Nao-kun!"

"Hey Tanuki," I say, turning towards Tamaki. "Why does she get to wear a bikini, but Haruhi can't?" I ask.

"Because it's cosplay, I guess," he replies, looking at the ground.

"Hey Tamaki, would you be okay if I cosplayed as a male stripper? Right now?" I ask, and his face turns bright red, and the twins laugh.

"Yes, as long as it's cosplay," he mutters, and I stand up.

"Where's Haruhi?" I ask, and Tamaki jumps up. "What are you doing with Haruhi?!" He asks, and I look at him like he should already know the answer.

"Well, a male stripper has to strip for someone, or else it's just a naked idiot!" I inform him, and his jaw drops, than he pulls out a water gun.

"No stripping on my daughter!" He says, before blasting me with the water gun. I laugh, and run away from him and closer to the pool deck, where a bunch of water guns are. I pick one up, and I load it with water, before I shoot back at Tamaki.

Before I knew it, the twins had joined in, and it wa 2. Except, I walked stealthily over to the twins and we had made an alliance to shoot Tamaki.

We corner Tamaki, and he runs into a pole, and I hear a loud **WHOOSH**

I turn towards the pool, and see the tide was starting. My swimmer instincts came in, and I started running towards the pool and dived in, grabbing a hold of Honey's tube. I planted my feet on the ground of the pool, and pushed Honey to the wall of the pool, where Mori picked him up, before they looked at me.

"Nao!" Haruhi shouts out, "watch out!"

I look up, and see a big wave coming towards me. I duck under water, and brace myself against the current so I don't get washed away. My makeup could run off, but who cares, I rescued someone and that's more than expensive makeup. But, I wore waterproof today, so hopefully it won't run too much. I hear a loud **RIP** in the water, and I open my eyes, looking at where the sound came from. My chest, the bandage ripped. Shit, now it's just a wet sports bra with measly scraps

The waves lessen, and I increase my breast stroke against the current, and I pop out of the water and start doing backstroke to the current.

"I just saved us a lot of time rescuing Honey," I say, and everyone sighs in relief. The tide pool's waves stop, and I pop out of the pool, walking briskly to the locker room, arms crossed over chest. I pretend to shiver, giving me a reason to hold my hands across my chest

"I-I'm so sorry Nao!" Tamaki says, running towards me, but I look down. "Don't apologize to me," I say, "say sorry to Honey, and stop following me."

I walk into the locker room, and slam the door. I left my bag in here, and I look in the mirror. If you looked closely, you could see a slight bulge in my chest, but the giant hoodie kinda covered it, and I take off my clothes and put on new ones. I run over to the shower, and turn it on, before running back to the front of the mirror. They'll think I'm showering, instead of applying makeup. Thank god I had extra ace bandaging, but I have to use the wet hoodie and wet bra. Yuck.

I re applied my makeup with the extras I packed in my bag, and I walk back out after turning off the shower, in the wet hoodie, wet sports bra, new ace bandaging and the swim trunks. I feel like I'm wearing wet socks on my tatas.

"Sorry I took a while, I took a quick shower," I call out, and the Host Club rushes towards me.

"Thank you so much!" Honey says bowing, and I lightly laugh. "Don't worry about it, swimmer instincts. Besides, I'm just glad you're alright. And, Tamaki is an idiot, so I should've known an accident would've occurred," I say, looking up at him, glaring daggers.

"Gulp," he says, before running away.

"I think Honey would've been fine if you didn't rescue him, he's from a family of skilled martial artists and they train our private police force," Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses. "The Ootori family's builders should have a better method of turning on the wave pool, this is dangerous."

"Huh," I say, even though I already knew this. Maybe Honey could teach me some self-defense...

"Hey Haruhi, how'd you enjoy our tropical getaway?" Kyoya asks, looking at Haruhi.

"This was fun and all, but I'd really enjoy going to the beach," she says, and Tamaki pops out of nowhere.

"WHAT THE FU-" I start, jumping back. "Did you say the beach?!" He asks, and I put my hand over my heart.

"Scared?" The twins say, but I shake my head. "It's just that Tanuki is such a super perv, he could hear that from far away and stealthily sneak back up and attack his prey," I say, and they laugh. "Yeah, Tanuki is a perv."

"Stop calling me Tanuki!" He says. I shrug, "All right Teriyaki," I say, and his face turns bright red in anger.

"The limo is here to take us back, where's your house address?" Kyoya asks.

"Oh, I was just about to ask Haruhi if I could sleepover at her house, is that cool with you Haruhi?" I ask.

"Yeah, go ahead," she says with a nod.

"YOu'RE LETTInG a B-O-y SlEEPover at your HOUSE?!" Tamaki asks, voice wavering in between loud and regular.

"Yup."

"Why? Why not me?" He asks, and Haruhi glares at Tamaki. "Because I can trust Nao, and I can't trust you because you may pull something shady."

Tamaki frowns, and gets in the limo. I roll my eyes, and whisper in Haruhi's ear. "There's supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight, so I wanted to make sure you'll be okay tonight." I pull away from her ear, and she looks at me surprised. "Thank you," she whispers, before getting in the limo, and I follow.

We all get dropped off at our separate homes, and finally Haruhi and I get out. We go inside, and I give her a pair of headphones once the rain starts, and a blindfold. I put my hand on her thigh with one hand, and I hold my book in the other. She eventually falls asleep, and I sigh, before tucking the covers over her.

I walk to her bedroom door, and turn off the lights, before I step into the kitchen, and sit down in a kitchen chair and read.

The front door opens, and Ranka steps in with groceries. He's soaking wet, and looks at me in shock.

"What is a boy doing late at my house at night!?" He yell whispers, and I point to Haruhi's room.

"I knew she was afraid of thunderstorms, so I made sure she'd be okay tonight until someone came home. I didn't want her to be afraid," I say, and Ranka's mouth closes. "That's so kind of you!" He says, rushing towards me and giving me a hug. I'll let someone hug me...just this once.

"Thank you miss," I say, pulling away. "I'll be going now, it'd be rude for me to overstay my welcome. Haruhi is sleeping right now, she has headphones on to listen to calming music, and a blindfold so she can't see the lightning or any visual traces of the rain. It's good to see you again, Mr. Ranka."

"I'll call for a cab," he says, walking to the house phone and entering in a number. Once the cab came, I left and went home, before I crashed out, exhausted from the events from today.

* * *

"We're going to the beach?!" I ask, excited. It was 6 days after the tropical thing adventure, and life had returned to normal.

"Yup," Teriyaki says, "we're going to Kyoya's private beach, and staying at his beach house for the night, so you'll need to pack."

Ugh, I'll miss Friday night tips, again. I had to work Monday to make up for lost cash...

"This suit is cute for Haru-chan, right?" Honey says, walking up to me holding a one-piece. Gah! All these cute suits and I can't have any... I'll ask Haruhi to snag an extra suit for me later.

"Haruhi, seriously, I have my doubts if we're going to Kyoya's private beach..." I say, and the twins shake their heads. "Nah, Kyoya doesn't pull funny business. Now Haruhi, the ruffles will hide your lack of femininity..." The twins say, and I zone out. When boys start talking about boobs, I loose interest.

"Nao, what do you think would work?" Haruhi asks, and I look at the suits. "Take the white ruffle one, with the red straps, and mix it with the bottom piece that's navy blue with white polka dots. It'd look pretty cute."

"You're right..." Haruhi, the twins, Mori and Honey say. They take the suit and pack it. "What are you going to do with these extra suits?" I ask the twins, and they shrug. "Burn 'em, probably. Most of these are 3 weeks ago's fashion."

"NOoooo!" I say, "I'm taking one for my cousin Akemi, she absolutely loves fashion. Is that okay with you guys?" I ask, and they smirk. "As long as she sends a picture of her in the suit..." they trail off evilly, and I shudder. Gross... I walk over to a light purple bikini top, and I grab that with a black bottom that's high waisted.

"Thanks! Now, I'll make her buy me McD's for weeks!" I say, laughing evilly as everyone sweatdrops.

"Well, see y'all tomorrow!" I say, running out the door. Aghhhh, this suit is so cute!

I practically ran home, and slept after I packed for the beach. Not every day needs me to do homework!

-At the beach-

I watched girls sit with Tamaki at the rocks, while I made girls margaritas. They thought it was interesting and very cool to drink something I made, which flattered me. Of course, Shadow King wouldn't let us have the beach to ourself today...

"Hey, Nao, we've been thinking," Hikaru says, walking up to the bar. "you said you weren't scared when Tamaki popped out of nowhere, right?" Kaoru finishes, leaning on the bar.

"Yup."

"What are you scared of then?" They ask, and visions of my parents finding my whereabouts, a wedding with Kako, the vines and roses symbol, and a broken beer bottle appear in my mind.

"Nothing, really, the only thing is..." I say, cleaning my workspace. "Ironically, Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia." I ask, turning towards them. Their jaws drop.

"So odd, but really?" they ask. "No."

They sigh, before walking away to other Host Club members...whatever.

I finish cleaning up, and I go to under an umbrella and read a book.

"Hey Nao," 4 girls who are usual customers say, walking up to me. God, I just sat down.

"Yeah?" I ask, "Wanna come in the water with us?" A red head asks, and I nod. "I'll just wade, though. Don't let me be a burden though," I say with a laugh, and they looked shocked. "You'd never be a burden, Nao!"

I laugh, standing up, before walking to the water with them. They go in deeper, and I stay close to the shore, looking for shells.

"Hey, Nao, look at this!" Honey says, and I turn around and see a giant lobster in his hands.

"Where's that from?" I ask, and he points around the beach, where lots of sea creatures are. These creatures aren't from here... Kyoya's workers must have placed them here to apologize for almost drowning Honey.

"Cool, sea fish!" I say, bopping the lobster on it's forehead with my finger.

"Hey Nao, we're heading back to the hotel!" The girls call out, walking from the water. "Bye bye!" I say, waving to them, and when their backs turn I sigh in relief. "I'm free for the rest of the day," I say, walking the shore of the beach.

"Hey Nao, look at this!" Tamaki says from behind me, and I turn around and see a big, fat toad in his hands. Ew.

"Tamaki, why do you have a toad?" I ask, and he looks me in the eye.

"So... I can play leap frog!" He says, before throwing the toad at me. I attempt catching it, but it's so slimy it falls out of my grip, and hops away.

"That's not how you play leap frog, Teriyaki," I say, annoyed. "Poor toad, he's probably startled."

"Batrachophobia, crossed off," Tamaki mutters under his breath.

"Hey, Nao, check this out!" Hikaru and Kaoru call out, and I walk briskly over to them. "Yep?" I ask.

"Can you stand in this dark cave, for like, a while?" They ask, and I deadpan. "No, because that's very stupid. Why don't you bakas do it yourself?"

They slowly back away from the cave, and I'm all alone.

"Nao," Mori says from behind me, and I turn around. Where did he come from?

He holds up a creepy looking doll, and I look at it. "Mori, do you actively play with children's toys?" I ask, and he throws the doll backwards.

"No."

I just walk away, and I head up to a bunch of rocks, sitting on them with my book.

"Wow! The view up here is great!" A girl calls from the cliff above me, and I look up. "Ladies, be careful, we don't want any accidents today!' I call out. "We will!" Another voice replies, but to be safe, I climb up to check on them.

3, shady looking men appear, and start harassing the girls to have a 'good time. I'm about to step out, when Haruhi throws a bucket of sea creatures at them, and they grab Haruhi.

"Girls, run!" Haruhi cries out, and they run away. I step out of the shadows, and throw the book at the guy who's holding Haruhi. I take off my glasses, discarding them to the side. I'm only far-sighted, so I can still see them.

"Back up the truck, you guys are being dicks. Now leave," I say, "before I frucking knock your teeth out, making you swallow them, shit them out, than feed you the shit." I crack my knuckles menacingly, a dark look coming on to my face. I just am trying to copy the face of a pissed off Sebastian from Black Butler.

Two gulp, before running off, but the one who held Haruhi is still standing there. "Haru, back away." I say, stepping forward, and rolling my neck, cracking it. The goal is to intimidate the man.

He rolls up his sleeves, and I look at his left arm, seeing the band tattoo of vines with roses scattered around it.

"Recognize it?" He chuckles, looking at his arm. Using this as a distraction, I run towards him and do a sweep kick, knocking him off his feet and into the ground. Once again, using moves from Black Butler. I back away, but he quickly stands up, pushing me towards the edge. I see Mori climbing the rocks, and I chuckle.

"Why are you laughing, freak?!" He yells, stepping forward, as I take a step closer to the edge. If I jump on my own accord, I'll have a better chance of not blacking out or breaking bones, or worst. Belly flopping.

"I got one thing to say to all my rad dudes out there, cowabunga! Oh, and Haruhi, take my glasses!" I shout out, before I do a backwards dive off the cliff. I feel the air rush around me, and I feel weightless for a moment, before I hit the water. It felt like a shock, with little pins and needles around me, but I swim to the surface and my head breaks the a water. For a split second, I considered not popping out the water. I put my hands across my chest, my bindings had completely snapped. Is this how I get found out? After a half-ass fight and me fleeing the scene?

I swim closer to the shore, and the Host Club on the shore rush towards me in the water. I'm on my knees in the sand, and light waves roll around me, as my head pokes out of the water.

"Hey guys, the water is really nice so I'll chill here for a bit," I say, and they all looked at me shocked.

"You literally just jumped off a cliff! If you waited a moment more, we could have prevented that!" Tamaki says angrily, throwing his hands up.

"You guys do know I'm a swimmer, I know how to swim," I say, sweatdropping.

"We were concerned you'd hurt yourself," Mori says, and everyone nods in agreement.

"We thought you'd get hurt!" The twins call out, and Haruhi looks at me. "It's my fault, Nao came to save me and the other girls. It's not anyone's fault except the perverts who came to harass the girls."

"But the thing is, Nao, we were so close to where you were, why didn't you let us help? Why didn't you call out? You never let us into your life more than necessary, and you seemed to have figured us out but we still know nothing about you. Haruhi could have gotten hurt because she got caught up in the middle of YOUR mess." Tamaki says, frown crossing his face.

"So? We're all allowed to have private lives, and I would have made sure Haruhi would've been safe. If she was the one to fall off the cliff, I'd get her," I say, shrugging.

"Well, you need to rely on us more! We're your friends! Until you say sorry for what you've done, I won't talk to you."

"Great, I'll meet you guys back at the beach house," I say, turning from them and walking deeper into the ocean, until only my face pokes out. I turn around, seeing them walk away from me hesitantly. Thank god, I need to get back to the mansion and fix my bindings as fast as possible.

Soon, they're little blurry dots, and I step out of the ocean, and run to the mansion, spraying water everywhere. I get there in 6 minutes, and I sneak to the closest room, pulling out my bag. I fix my chest bindings, and I put on a new bra, clothes and makeup. I feel fresh, yet salty from the ocean.

I walk down to the dining hall, and I sit at the only open chair left, which is next to Tamaki, sadly. I continue to ignore him, and I eat my crab. I'm just gonna stay silent. Haruhi passes me my glasses from the other side of Tamaki, and I place them on my face.

"Really Nao? You aren't gonna say anything?" Tamaki says, breaking the awkward silence at the dinner table.

"If you request it, I have something to say," I state, setting a crab leg I was eating back down on the plate. "You are all in your own bubble, I hate to admit. You all have never experienced the horrors that what's outside the bubble holds. The bubble is a safe place, containing little particles that might be troublesome, but other than that you have pretty good lives. But, my bubble has been popped for years now." They all look at me confused, with wide eyes at my weird way of speaking. I inhale, and continue.

"Do you guys know what a sexual assault is? It's not limited to touching some girl's shoulder without permission. **Sexual assault** is any type of **sexual** contact or behavior that occurs without the worded **consent** of the recipient," I say, emphasizing the words 'sexual' and 'consent,' for them to get the point. "Those girls were going to be molested, and possibly raped by those men. They weren't giving their consent at all."

Their faces fall, and Tamaki has a guilty look on his face. "Haruhi could have been sexually assaulted," he says, and I shake my head. "Her neck would've been snapped for interfering, those guys were drunkards from a yakuza. I saw their tattoos," I say, and their eyes all widen. "Now listen, to prevent those girls from being possibly raped, I fought my fruckin' hardest to help them. If what I attempted was a bad thing to do, than should I have stopped them? Should I have let Haruhi and the girls be assaulted?" I ask, standing up.

"I was too weak to fight back, but I made effort, too. Nao's right, we did what we could." Haruhi states, munching on lots of crab.

"But Haruhi's a girl! She would have never bee-"

"Shut your silly, sexist mouth!" I say, talking over him. "If you are judging a person's capabilities after their gender, you are living in the freaking 1920's! I swear to god, you're too much!" I throw my hands up, running them through my hair. I look away from the table, and I see it's cloudy outside, it looks like it's going to rain.

"But Nao, you aren't a martial artist like Honey, and you tried beating up a member of the yakuza! Guy or not, that's way out of your league." Tamaki argues, and I just chuckle darkly, shaking my head.

"Fight back, or get scarred. I'd rather not get scarred again," I say, before leaving the dining hall, closing the door quietly. I go to the room that has Nao scribbled on a post card and taped to the door, and I scream into a pillow. These sexist men are so frustrating!

I hear rain begin to fall, and I panic. Where's Haruhi?! I grab the extra headphones and necktie from my bag, as I run out of my door and into the hallway, opening doors in search of Haruhi, and at the end of the hallway, a door was slightly ajar.

I look inside, and see Tamaki and Haruhi, with Tamaki putting his hand over Haruhi's eyes, as he hums a nursery tune, as he places sound-proof headphones over her ears.. I step inside quietly, but the door creaks and Tamaki turns towards me.

"What are you doing?" He asks, and I raise an eyebrow. "Looking for Haruhi, I knew she's been afraid of thunder for a while," I say, walking over towards them and tying the necktie around her eyes.

"You knew?" He asks, and I nod. His eyes widen, and he puts his hand to his forehead. "That's why you asked to sleepover at Haruhi's house last week, you knew it was going to storm." "Bingo." I say, looking away from Tamaki and at the large windows in the room. It's really storming out there...

"Listen, Nao," Tamaki says, a sad tone in his voice. "I'm really sorry for my comments, I had no idea how you felt about that topi-"

"How I felt or didn't feel doesn't matter, Tamaki," I say bluntly. "I did what my gut told me to do. Follow your gut, Tamaki, that's usually the right thing to do. I'm sorry I scared you all, but I just followed my guts." He sighs, "I'm...sorry," he says, and I look at him.

"Though I'm King of the Host Club, I don't have the rights to control what you do, or when to do it," he says, running his fingers through his hair. "I, I just don't want to see you guys, my family, get hurt by things you do."

"Tamaki, I'm the biggest clutz there is. I'm gonna stumble, fall, and get back up again. But that's life. Just remember Phoenixes rise from the ashes, and I'm the freaking best phoenix there is. And, I must say as the great phoenix, that everyone in our club is a pretty good phoenix too," I say with a wink, before leaving the room, heading back to my bedroom.

I crash on the bed, and fall asleep, hoping that when I return to school everything will have calmed down.

* * *

Author's note- I finished this chapter on Wednesday, and I went to the optician to see if I need glasses. Turns out, I'm far sighted in one eye and near sighted in the other, so I'm getting glasses so my eyes don't strain. Hehe, writing a character who wears glasses will be much easier now...

Anyway, chapters WILL get shorter since I (kinda?) got a job, and I have sport meets and practices and AP homework, so don't worry if chapters will get shorter! I'll try to write as much as I can with two stories and 10,000-28,000 words with both books ;-;

Please review, favorite and follow, because stories are actually really hard to write!


	9. Chapter 9: Vines and Roses

Don't forget to go to the polls and vote for the character you want Nao to end up with! I'm going to be replying to reviews in the beginnings of each chapter, so leave a review!

 **Katime:** The Ouran Movie was hilarious! I also watched the drama, and I died when Nekozawa went *O ma gawd*. I also thought it was hilarious how all the characters looked better than Tamaki.

 **Mismosa Evans:** I plan on having the love interest possibly being one of those 3...maybe Ryo too? I know it's an OC I introduced to the story, but he'll definitely have a place later on.

 **Guest:** Thanks! I update this story and my Hunter x Hunter one every Sunday, so just make sure to check the site on Sunday.

 **Sallycoombs:** Thanks! Love triangles are pretty fun to write, so I'm thinking about creating it for the ~DRAMA~

* * *

"Cultural exposition?" I ask, tilting my head to the side, as one of my customers talked to me during free period.

"Yeah! The choral and drama clubs from other schools visit for a few days, and it's really fun." She says, and I think.

"That'd be fun to go to, Haruhi, wanna go?" I ask, looking at Haruhi who is sitting in her seat, reading the textbook.

"Sure," she says, and the twins sneak up behind her. "It's not a 'sure,' we need you to buy more instant coffee."

Haruhi sighs, and I glare at the boys. "I'll come with you, Haruhi, that's what friends do, after all." I say, smile coming on to my face. The girls nearby squeal. "Kawaii!" The say, twirling in circles as hearts beat in their eyes.

"Thanks," she says, before snatching the yen from the boys, as we walk out of the free period room, out to the grocery store.

=time skip=

Haruhi and I are walking back from the grocery store, and we're chatting. "Haruhi, watch ou-!" I say, seeing a random banana peel near her feet. Looking at me confused, she steps right onto the banana peel and slips backwards. Dropping my bag, I reach my hand out to her, but someone rushes behind Haruhi, catching her in their arms.

I look up, and see a tall girl, with short brown hair.

"It would be such a shame," she says, caressing Haruhi's face, "if harm came to your pretty face, young maiden."

I snort in laughter, and the short haired girl looks at me with a glare. "Why do you laugh at this maiden?" She demands, and I stop laughing. "I thought it was funny you realized she was a girl immediately, only I so far have been able to do that." I say, pushing my glasses up.

"I'm Nao Araki, nice to meet you." I stick my hand out, and she sticks hers out, "Benio Amakusa, but call me Benibara." She grasps my hand, and twirls me into her chest, where I'm firmly pressed against her.

"You're skin is soft, for a man. Or, are you a man? I can feel your chest bindings, why do you bind such ripe apples?" she asks, and a blush comes to my face. "Step off," I say, pushing her off me. "Listen, keep my gender a secret, all right?" I ask, and her eyes widen. "You can be such a beautiful maiden, but you look like a man. Why so?"

"Personal reasons, I kinda ran away from home. No biggie, but the only way to stay away from home and at Ouran is if I'm a man." I say, "Please do not share with anyone this information."

"Of course not! Why would I betray the secret, of a woman so beautiful?!" She declares loudly, hand on heart as she gestures towards the sky. She's DEFINITELY a female Tamaki.

"So, I take it you're from Lobelia's," Haruhi says, picking her coffee bags off the ground, and I follow her actions. "Yes, I'm here with the Zuka club, an entertainment group that has female followers of all ages! Are both of you in any activities?"

"Host Club," Haruhi and I say bluntly, and Benibara's mouth opens. "Two fair maidens, trapped with men! Unexcusable! We will save you!"  
"No thanks, we don't need saving," Haruhi says, and I nod in agreement.

"Let us go, fair maidens! Lead me to your club!"

We sigh, and walk to Music Room 3, and the door opens.

"Well, if I were to be a knight in love, I would tell her I'd fight for her, never letting go of her love. I'd die for her," Tamaki says, bowing to two girls in the room, with the same uniform as Benibara.

"If we were to fight, it'd be together," Benibara says, spinning us both in her arms. The Host Club boys' jaws drop.

"If we prevail not, we shall meet our fate together," she spins Haruhi to a chair, taking my hand and kneeling before it.

"Even if we perish, I promise I shall never leave your side," she finishes, before kissing my hand lightly.

Tamaki freaks out, and I just calmly walk away from Benibara, setting the coffee on a table. "I got the coffee. I'm going to check out the cultural exposition now, if you shall excuse me." I say, looking at Kyoya. He just nods, and I turn for the door. I step out of it, and Benibara grabs my shoulder, pressing her lips close to my ear.

"Just know, you can have a scholarship waiting for you at Lobelia's, for you in the Zuka Club." she says, and I walk away.

The cultural exposition was interesting, and after an hour of attending that, I went home and slept.

* * *

The next day, after school, Haruhi and I were walking to the Host Club. "The Lobelia girl, Benibara, found out, but she promised not to tell. She offered me a scholarship there, in the Zuka Club, but they focus more on clubs than academics...I would accept though, if they had a better academic plans."

"Same, honestly. But, the Host Club doesn't know this...I was so mad yesterday, they're auctioning my school supplies online for Host profits! I saw an eraser from you on there, an eraser! It was sold for 3,000 yen!"

My eyes widen, and I laugh. "Wait, the Host Club is probably going to pull something funny, I need to record this incase it happens right away..." I say, pulling out my iPhone and pressing 'record.'

"Oh, great, my fair maidens are here to enter this pitiful club too!" Benibara says, with her crew with her.

She opens the doors to the Host Club, and rose petals swarm us, before revealing...the Host Club in a crouching position? "Ouran!" The twins sing, rising from a crouching position. "Ouraaaannnn," Mori sings, "Ourannnn," Kyoya rises, voice surprisingly high. "oURANNNNN!" Honey sings, more like screeches, jumping up.

"Our _rrrrr_ an!" Tamaki sings, and the chandelier turns on, revealing the Host Club in heavy drag, with exaggerated makeup and wigs, with poofy dresses and heels. They look absolutely ridiculous! Except Mori, who isn't in a dress, but Kyoya looks pretty good as a maid...Maybe he's related to some kind of Butler...? (A/N-YES IT'S A KUROSHITSUJI REF)

"Host club welcomes you!" They sing out, and I have to put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing.

"Oh Nao, Haruhi, welcome back to our modest establishment!" Tamaki says, twirling towards us. Yeah right, modest my ass. The other day they gave me 30,000 check to buy a packet of M'Ms from 'Ouran's Fabulous Host Club'. It was so awkward at the cashier register...

"Nao-chan, aren't I adorable? I'm a pretty princess!" Honey says giggling, spinning around the room. Benibara's eyebrows twitch,"What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to make fun of woman kind?"

"What? No, that's not it at all. Everything's going according to plan. Our strategy is guaranteed to make even a crying child smile. It's the freebie campaign. My dears, you ladies have all lived sheltered lives at Lobelia, so you might not know, that commoners are weak. They have a weakness for free things. Haruhi, you may be distracted by the Zuka club. But choose us. And you gain not only a host club full of brothers but sisters as well. See? This way, you can experience feminine bonding while staying in the host club!" Tamaki says, and the Host Club nods in agreement.  
"Isn't that a great idea? Aren't I pretty?" Tamaki asks, and I shake my head no.

"We're the Hitachiin sisters. Which one of us is prettier?" Hikaru and Kaoru say, spinning towards us with obnoxiously high voices.

"Neither, you're both ugly," I say, covering the mic, laughing slightly.

"Nao-chan, Haru-chan, call me big sis from now on!" Honey says, smiling at us both. Mori just comes up to us, rumbling his tambourine, with Kyoya fluttering his fan.  
"Why you... Do you idiots really think you can win her over like this? I've had enough of your fooling around!" Benibara roars, glaring at the club. "This is too much. I don't even get what you're trying to do. I knew you were a bunch of goofballs, but geez..." Haruhi says, covering her forehead.

"Are we really that funny? Call me big sister. Come on, do it. Just say it. Big sister. Say it please...!" The twins and Honey say, getting close to our faces, but I swat them away.

"What are you idiots doing? I knew you were a bunch of goofballs, but geez!" Haruhi says, falling on the ground in laughter. I laugh with her, clutching my stomach. "You guys~" I say, laughing, "would make HORRIBLE drag queens!" I wipe away a tear, and I look at their shocked faces.

"Are we really that funny?" The twins and Honey ask, getting in our faces. I stumble back, and I continue to laugh. They ARE that funny.

"Call me big sister! Just do it!" They say, and I grab Haruhi's hand, as we run around the room from them, as they yell at us in high voices to call them big sister. Haruhi and I were laughing the whole time, and I wiped tears from my eyes. Laughter tears.

"Stooooopppppp!" Haruhi and I say, as our faces are red from laughing heavily. "What are you guys thinking? Doing all of this?" Haruhi asks, calming her laughter. I stop recording, and put my phone away.

"We did this because we don't want you to leave the host club, Haruhi." Hikaru says, and Haruhi's smile grows.  
"Well, maiden, have you made a choice?" Benibara snaps, looking irritated.

"Yeah, I have. I'm sorry but your club's not for me. I think the idea of a girls' school is great. And your views are very unique and interesting. But I came to this school with a goal and a plan for my future. So while I appreciate your offer, I really already knew that I was never going to leave Ouran academy." Haruhi says, and Benibara looks at me, eyebrow raised. Looking at her with eyes that scream 'no', she sighs in surrender.

"Haruhi~." Tamaki says, tears streaming down his face as he smiles, before the smile fades. "Hold on. If you knew you weren't going to leave, then why did you act so angry yesterday?" He yells at Haruhi, angry tick marks appearing on his face.  
"How would you feel if I stole something of yours without asking you? I really liked that mechanical pencil. It was easy to write with." Haruhi yells out at him, and he looks away in shame.

"I'm sorry. But I was nice and offered my teddy-bear pencil in return, and you said you didn't want it." He says sadly holding up a teddy bear pencil, and I glare at him.

"That's right, and I still don't want it." She mutters, "That's the ugliest pencil I've ever seen..." I mutter, and Haruhi nods in agreement.

"We're not going to give up on you, maiden. Or any, unbelonging maidens in this club. I swear this to you. Some day, we'll come and rescue you from this place. And when we do, we'll abolish the Ouran host club! Well, adieu." Benibara says dramatically, looking at the Host Club with hate in her eyes, as she and her minions spin out the door, slipping on a banana peel on the way out.

"Well, that just happened," I say, "Host Club hours are over, so it's the weekend and I'm out. Bye!" I say, rushing out the door.

* * *

 **IT'S SATURDAY TIME SKIP**

I groggily rub my eyes, as my phone plays the trumpet fanfare ringtone.

I grab my phone, and press 'accept'. "What do you want Tamaki, it's 6:30 on the weekends and I need my beauty sleep."

"Wanna come to Haruhi's house with me?"

"No." I hang up, and go back to sleep.

(A/N-y'all thought I was gonna write in that episode? Haha, no hun!)

I wake up to ANOTHER phone call, which is around 9:00 from Ritsu. "Hey Ritsu, wazzup?" I ask, and I hear him inhale through his nose.

"Have you seen the news?" He asks, and my eyebrows cinch in confusion. "No, why? I don't have a telly, so I can't watch."

"I'll text you the link, it's V and R," he says, and my eyes widen. "What did they do?"

"They're global. There was a terrorist attack last night in Germany, France, Mexico, America, Japan and Canada. Suicide bombers, about 20 killed, 70 injured world wide. It's pretty scary shit, man." I inhale sharply, how did this even happen?

"How do they know it's V and R?" I ask, and I hear him sigh.

"They bore their arm tattoos, and said identical demands in the corresponding languages of the country. The demands were that we obey their cause, and no one will get hurt. Nao, this is really serious, they plan on overthrowing the government. They already showed their laws and more people are joining their cause." he says, and I shake my head.

"Is any country working on their demands?" I ask. "Not yet, but some citizens from these countries are, so we'll have to cross our fingers and hope everyone is safe."

* * *

It's Monday now, and a month before summer break. After school in the Host Club, it was 'Meeting Monday', and there is a strange curtain in the room.

"What's the curtain for, Kyo-kun?" Honey asks, and Kyoya smirks. "Excuse the dramatics that Tamaki insisted on, but we have a new Host." Kyoya says, and Tamaki claps his hands excitedly. "Ohhhhh this is so exciting! Now introducing," Tamaki says, pulling on a rope from the ceiling, as the curtain falls down. "Ryo Makonra!"

I look at the handsome boy standing where the curtain was released, and my cheeks flush slightly. He is extremely handsome in the bright light, and he grins a white smile at us.

"Glad to see you all, I'm also excited to be in the Host Club too!" He says, and I smile slightly. He seems really nice, and gentlemanly.

"So, Ryo is the 'gentleman type'! Since I am prince, he is not quite the charming, prince type, but he is a polite gentleman to all ladies, which is rare these days!" Tamaki says, and I chuckle slightly.

"Ryo got his type the fastest out of all of us...I got mine after...how many chapters? 6? 7?" I ask, and Ryo chuckles.

"You're so cute, Nao." He says, and I squeal on the inside, but on the outside I sweat drop. "I'm not cute, I am simply handsome." I say boastfully, puffing out my chest, acting all high and mighty, and he laughs. He has a nice laugh...

"Everyone, tomorrow's theme is police force. Any idea what roles we should play?" Kyoya asks, and we all think.

"Hikaru and Kaoru should be conflicting 'good cop bad cops'," I say, "Tamaki should be chief, Kyoya deputy chief. Mori and Honey can be sheriffs, Haruhi and I can be Inspectors, and Ryo can be a Police Officer."

"Ehhh? I don't like the idea of being ranked lower than everyone else, I love being top dog," Ryo says jokingly, crossing his arms with a pout.

"Let's all be police officers! And Kyoya can be deputy chief, and I'll be chief!" Tamaki says, and everyone applauds him. Wow, thanks for listening to some of my idea Tamaki.

So, the next day, we're all dressed up as police officers. All the customers were fawning over how cool we looked in our costumes, and we attracted some new people who are Ryo's customers. The club closed up for the day, and we all just sat around, eating left over cake, when the door opened. "Positions!" Tamaki whispers, and we all get into our Host Club positions. I stand next to Haruhi, and we sling our arms over each other's shoulders.

"Welcome!" We all say, and a little, blonde girl steps into the room. She looks up at us all with wide, innocent looking blue eyes. "Oh my, what an unusually young guest! Well, glad you're here... my little lost kitty cat." Tamaki says, rose petals flying around him as he smiles at the little girl.

"Ohhhh! She's just precious, isn't she?" I ask, putting my hands over my cheeks as my mouth forms an 'o' shape, I love children!

"Little Kitty Cat, why have you come to see us today?" Tamaki asks, hands on hips as he looks down on the little girl.

The little girl's eyes flash in realization of something. "It's a reverse harem! This is a reverse harem!" I snort in laughter, and Tamaki glares at me. "That can't be right. I must have heard wrong. Maybe there's still some water in my ear from when I went swimming."

"There is debauchery here. Yay! There's debauchery here, isn't there? You're the glasses character," she says, pointing at Kyoya. "You are the boy lolita and the stoic type. Twincest. Gay," she says, pointing at me. "Gentleman. And the bookworm." I'm not gay! Or, am I? I don't exactly see a problem dating a chic, or a dude, as Akemi or Nao, so am I gay...? I'm not really interested in dating or having relations...

"Big brother?" She asks, looking at Tamaki. "My brother's blond! You must be him!" She launches herself on to Tamaki, enveloping him into a hug.

"You never told us about this? Since when do you have a little sister?" The Hitatwins ask, and Tamaki sweatdrops, hairs flopping out of place.

"I don't! I'm definitely an only child... at least as far as I know." He says defensively, and I laugh. "I think she's pretty cute."  
"Wait, she said you're the gay type," The Hitatwins say, breathing down my neck. "Are you gay, Nao?"

"Mmmm...I prefer the term-," I say, scratching the back of my neck, as Kyoya cuts me off. "I want to know if glasses character's superior to big brother, and Nao's sexuality should remain a secret for the mysterious factor and drama." Kyoya says, pushing his glasses up, looking at the little girl.

"But does it really matter if you're big brother, or if Na? I can't believe she called me "bookworm.'" Haruhi replies to Kyoya.

"What's your name?" I ask, looking at her.

"Kirimi!" I think I've heard that name before...

"Kirimi-chan, I'm afraid you've made a mistake. I'm really sorry, but I don't have a younger sister." Tamaki says, and she looks at him with tearful eyes.

"Duh! I know who's sister this is!" I say, and Tamaki looks at me. "Who? Me?" Tamaki asks, and I sweat drop.

"NO, you baka, it's Umehito's sister! He's mentioned he has a little sister named Kirimi in art class before!" I say, and everyone sweatdrops.

"No, that's not possible. Umehito is not a blonde, I am. From now on, I'll take care of Kirimi as her new big brother!" Tamaki says valiantly, looking at the sky. In one ear, out the other...of course. I roll my eyes, and pull out my phone, texting Umehito that his sister Kirimi is here.

"I know you get carried away by emotion. But don't you think it's irresponsible to make such empty promises?" Haruhi asks, and Tamaki looks at Haruhi with shock on his face.

"Kirimi... Kirimi..." a blonde boy says, popping out of the doors leading to the Black Magic club in the basement, as black flowers surround him.

"Hey, uh, who the hell are you?" The Hitatwins ask. "He looks like a foreigner!" Honey declares.

"There's Kirimi!" He says, and I recognize his voice.

"Dammmmn Umehito, you're pretty hot..." I say, biting my lip. The Host Club looks at me in shock, "That's Nekozawa-senpai?!"

A maid and butler come out, putting Nekozawa in a cloak, and I zone out. Something about a fear of lights.

"I'm going home. See you all tomorrow," I say, grabbing my messenger bag and leaving. I ring up Miyako, and she picks up.

"Hey Akemi, what's up?" She asks. "Can I work tonight?" I ask, and she laughs. "You're free to work whenever, you're good. Akemi, I hope you get picked up or something and become an idol." I laugh, "That'd be something, I'll see you in a few," I say, before I hang up.

I get to my house, and I'm putting on my Akemi makeup when my phone rings, and it's the Host Club's Idiot president.

"Yello?" I ask. "Hey Nao, we found out that Honey has a cavity, and we think if he sees Akemi at the club it'll really cheer him up. Can you ask Akemi if she can come to the club for a bit tomorrow and perform?"

"Oh, poor Honey, cavities suck. I'll ask, and since you're on the line, I need to tell you something, since I was just about to call you, but my grandma on my dad's side is in town, and she wants me to spend a day with her, so I can't come to school tomorrow, meaning I won't be at the host club." I lie, making up the fake grandma story.

"That's okay, don't worry. What's your grandma's name?" He asks.

"Well, I call her Nona, but I call her Gramma Josephina," I lie. "Oooh! Is she foreign?" Tamaki asks. "No, my great grandma thought foreign names just sounded really cool." I say, and Tamaki 'ah's' in understandment on the other end. "Well, I hope you have fun tomorrow with Nona Josephina, and I hope to see Akemi!" I literally just made up something random.

I finish doing my hair and putting in my contacts, and I walk to the pub.

"Hey Miyako," I greet her, and she looks me up and down. "Where's your boobs." she states, and I look down and see I'm wearing my bindings. "Oops, I was working out today, and I can't afford really good sports bras so I bind the pechugas," I say, and she laughs.

"Been there, done that, don't worry. I know they're uncomfortable, so you can change out in the backroom," she says, and I nod in thanks. I go to the backroom, and I undo my bindings so it's just a sports bra.

I do a new set I worked on, and finished off the night well, before I went home and crashed.

* * *

"You've gotta be kiddin' me, I have to get dressed up too?" I ask, looking at the Host Club in front of me. I was dressed as Akemi at the Host Club, and it was a 'theme day.'

"Why, yes, of course! I'm Zeus, of course," Tamaki says, "Kyoya is Hades, Mori is Poseidon, Honey is Cupid, the twins are both Dionysus, Haruhi is Hermes, Ryo is Ares, and you will be..."

"I'm gonna end up being Persephone and matching with Kyoya, right?" I say with a sigh, and Tamaki shakes his head.

"While I'd love to drag you to the depths of hell with me," Kyoya says, "we, sadly, aren't matching Akemi."

"Great, dressing room?" I ask, and Kyoya nods.

"Ake-chan! I haven't seen you for a really long time! I missed you!" Honey says, running up to me. "Hey cupid, how's your mouth feelin'?"

"Poopy!" He replies, and I laugh. "Well, if you don't eat sweets for the time until your tooth heals, I'll make you a cake."

"Yay!" He says, turning to Mori. "Hear that? Ake-chan will make me a cake!"

"Hello Akemi," Mori says, cheeks flushed. "You look nice." I'm wearing a black sweatshirt, with pink jeans and white tennis shoes, with my hair in two braids. Basic makeup. Nothing exciting.

"Why, thanks Mori! You look dapper too," I say, and he blushes and turns away.

"I'll head to the dressing room, see you all in a moment! No peeping toms!" I add at the end, looking at the Hita-twins, before I walk into the dressing room.

Inside is a silk, white toga. I put it on, and it's pretty form fitting at the top part, but billowy at the skirt part. It's floor length, and has a giant slit where you can see almost my entire left leg...thank god I shaved. On my left shoulder, there's a strip of white silk that's supposed to be a sleeve, but its hanging slightly off my shoulder. I quickly did cat wings on my eyes with makeup from my purse, and I take my hair out of its braids, making it wavy, and I place a wreath of vines on my head. I look okay in the mirror. I'd probably look better in this outfit as Kako, wigless and makeupless.

I slip off my tennis shoes, and pad out of the changing room, looking up at the Host Club. All of their jaws drop, and their faces turn tomato red. Mori looks at the ground, and so do the twins.

"Do I look okay? Is there something on my face?" I ask, and they all quickly shake their heads no. Haruhi looks like she's trying not to laugh at the Host Club.

"Y-you look lovely!" Tamaki says, and I smile. "Thanks Tamaki!" I say, and he quickly runs out the door.

"Wha?" I ask, looking at the door.

"Akemi, where did you receive that scar from? On your chest?" Kyoya asks, and I look at the faded scar.

"Kyoya, you lookin' at my chest?" I ask seriously, and his face turns red. "O-of course not, I was ju-just-"

"I'm messing around with you!" I say, with a slight giggle. "Battle wounds," I reply, before I glide over to Haruhi.

"God of messages, huh?" I ask, and she sighs. "Tamaki thought it was funny since I originally started out as errand boy."

I laugh slightly, and the door creaks open, and I turn around. "Oh, hey Ritsu! Did Tamaki drag you along?" I ask, seeing Tamaki behind him. Ritsu's face turns red, and he slams the door closed.

"God, what's with everyone today?" I ask, and Haruhi shrugs.

"You look beautiful," Mori mutters, and I look up at him, "Thanks Mori, that's really sweet!" I say, and he looks away.

"Well, it's 2:20, any song requests or ideas?" I ask, but no one replies, all the boys looking away or at the ground.

"I swear to god I'll start singing the Shrek theme song." I say jokingly, and no one replies, not even the snarky twins.

"Fine..." I say, and the Host Club door creaks open, and Ritsu pops his head in, followed by Tamaki's head, and Umehito's cloaked head.

"Guys, just come in, I swear..." I say, walking over to the door and opening it. They all fall over, and I roll my eyes.

"Who's the cloaked guy?" I ask, since we technically haven't met yet.

"This is mm-my friend Umehito Nekozawa," Ritsu says, and I smile at Umehito. "Dark Magic, I presume?" I ask, and I can see his eyes widening under his cloak. "Most definitely! Nice to meet you Miss Akemi," he says, kissing the back of my hand. A bit of a blush covers my cheeks, no one has done this before! Tamaki hits Nekozawa's hand, "No kissing my daughter! You're making her embarrassed! She's turning red, see?"

"No, sorry on my part, no one's ever kissed the back of my hand before, so it kinda threw me off." I say with a light laugh, and everyone's eyes, save for Haruhi's, widen.

"What? Commoners don't greet lovely ladies by kissing the back of their hands!?" Tamaki says, and I sweat drop. "No, not really." I say, and Tamaki grabs my hand. "Well, than..." he trails off, and I smack his hand off. "No. Oh well, time to start singing!" I say, pointing at the clock that reads 2:30. I hastily walk to the stage, grabbing the mic.

The speaker system plays, and I grin. "This is my jam!" I say into the mic, and the host club doors open. Girls flock in, some familiar faces wave to me, and I bop to the opening beat.

 _"Uh-oh, running out of breath, but I  
Oh, I, I got stamina  
Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes  
Well, oh, I got stamina  
And uh-oh, I see another mountain to climb  
But I, I, I got stamina  
Uh-oh, I need another love, be mine  
Cause I, I, I got stamina" _I sing, nodding my head to the beat. This song kinda feels...deeper to me, than just another song. It reminds me of all the mountains I had to climb, to get here today. As Nao, as Akemi, leaving Akemi behind.

 _"I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive_  
 _I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest  
_ _The greatest, the greatest alive  
_ _The greatest, the greatest alive"_ I snap to the beat, occasionally tapping my foot. More girls have gathered on the dance floor than before on my first song.

 _"Well, uh-oh, running out of breath, but I_  
 _Oh, I, I got stamina_  
 _Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes_  
 _But, oh, I got stamina_  
 _And oh yeah, running through the waves of love_  
 _But I, I got stamina_  
 _And oh yeah, I'm running and I've just enough_  
 _And uh-oh, I got stamina"_ the girls clap along, and I smile.

" _I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive_  
 _I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest_  
 _The greatest, the greatest alive_  
 _The greatest, the greatest alive"_ I sing out, looking at where Ryo, Umehito and Mori are just casually lurking in the back of the room, watching my every move. Creepy... I finish up the song, and am met with applause, and I nod towards the crowd.

I do 2 more hours of singing, before Host Club hours close, and everyone leaves. "Well, that was fun, thanks for having me again," I say to the Host Club with a slight bow, and I see Ritsu still lurking in the corner. "And, it was nice seeing you again, Kasanoda-kun!" He looks up at me quickly, a blush scattering his cheeks.

"N-no problem! Bye!" He says, before quickly leaving the room.

"Well, tell Nao we said hi!" Hikaru and Kaoru say, and everyone nods. "I'll change out of this outfit now, be right back..." I say, leaving to the dressing room, and quickly changing out, hanging up everything as it was.

"Bye now!" I say, walking towards the door, reaching my hand out to turn the handle, when suddenly, the door opens, hitting me in the head, and I stumble backwards.

"I forgot my backpa-" Ritsu says, before looking at me. "I'm so sorry Akemi!"

"N-no, it's fine," I say, stumbling to the door, putting my hand to my forehead where I felt it throb with angry pulses. "I just feel a little woozy, that's all," I say, as I look at the Host Club behind me, who bear concerned faces. Their faces spin, blackness creeping into my vision and I put my hand against the door to support myself.

"Battleship down," I say, before the blackness takes over, tipping over, and I feel large hands catch me as I fall down.

* * *

I look around my old house, with confusion on my face. It seemed more Edo-period than usual.

"The draft says you must go to war, Nao, since your father doesn't feel like it. Besides, he always uses family as a shield," my mother says, looking at my brother, who's wearing a kimono. My mother is also wearing a kimono, and so am I? I'm wearing a purple one, and I reach up to my hair, and I pull down a strand. It's my long, brown hair.

"I will take leave for the army camp in two days," my brother says, and I look up at him. "No, Nao, don't go!" I cry out, "We need you on the farm." How could I live without my twin, too?

"Kako, I must go," he says, kissing my forehead. "But, for now, I'll work in the fields, until I must go. It's morning, and I'm not going to slack off, am I?" He says with a light laugh, and tears well in my eyes, but I wipe them away.

"Fine, I'll come with you," I say, as my brother stands up, and I stand up, but my mother holds me down.

"Darling, you must stay delicate and gentle to find a husband," she says, and I shake my head. "I don't need a man, mother!"

"You must bring honor to this family through finding a husband, it's the way it has always been, you're father and I agree on this matter," she lectures me, pointing a finger at me, as I sigh. "You're going to the meeting today," she finishes, "now go!"

I put my hair into a bun as I paint my lips red, and I follow my mother out the door and to the town, where I see Maaya in a pink kimono.

"Maaya!" I call out, waving at my friend, as she sternly looks at me.

"Araki, Kako, present. Speaking informally, that's one point off." She says, writing on a clipboard, as my eyebrows cinch in confusion. "Follow me," she says, as she leads me into a temple, and I stand tall.

"Call me Ki-Sama, I am the Matchmaker," she says, looking at me smugly. I straighten my back, and she clucks her tongue.

"Too skinny, you can't have children with a waist like that," she says snarkily. "Recite the Final Admonition," Maaya says, and my eyes go wide. What the heck is that?! I look at my wrists, and I see wet, smeared ink, that has traditional japanese writing of Kanji...I sucked at writing in Kanji. I pull out a paper fan, and I lightly fan myself with it, as I put it infront of my face.

"Fulfill your duties, calmly and..." I glance down at the notes on my arm, which are hard to make out in this intense situation, "respectively. Um, reflect before you ... snack." Oh shoot, that's- "Act! This shall bring you honor and glory." I rush at the end, and I continue to fan myself.

Maaya grabs my arm with the smeared ink, and turns around my fan. "Hmmm. You are rusty, but it will do," she says, taking her hand off my arm, and rubbing the underside of her face, leaving an ink beard.

"Pour me some instant coffee," she demands, and I nod, grabbing the coffee pot which is simmering over a flame for some reason, and my kimino's sleeve slightly grazes the flame, setting it on fire.

"Ahh! Hot!" I say, shaking my arms to get the fire out, throwing the hot coffee all over an agitated Maaya, and I put my sleeve in a kitchen sink full of water.

"It burns!" Maaya yells at me. "Get out! You will never pass for a perfect bride!" She says, and I shamefully walk out the door, and back to my house.

My mother and father awaited me there, looking sternful. "We heard what happened with the Matchmaker, and we know she'll never set you up with a husband," my mother says, shaking her head sadly.

"So, to repay my debt and to get you a husband, I'm marrying you off to a yakuza member. This works well for me, 'cuz 2 birds and 1 stone, 2 girls and 1 cup. Tomorrow, to be exact. Bye!" He says, and my jaw drops as they walk out as they walk out of the room. How did that happen so quickly?

A scream comes from the outside, and I run outside as fast as I can, and see my brother, hunched over in the field, clutching his arm.

"Brother!" I call out, rushing towards him. "What happened?"

"I-I think I broke my wrist and pinkie," he says, clutching his right hand close to him. "We must take you to the doctor immediately! He's a week away, but we can do it!" I say, and he shakes his head.

"I'm going to the war camp in two days, injured wrist or not." He says, and my jaw drops.

"You're injured! You can't go! Your right hand is your sword hand!" I exclaim, and he looks at me.

"I must go, alright?" He says, standing up shakily, walking inside.

I sigh, " _Look at me ... I will never pass for a perfect bride_ _Or a perfect daughter."_ I sing, picking up the farming tools my brother left behind.

 _"Can it be?_  
 _I'm not meant to play this part?"_ I put the tools in the storage shed.  
 _"Now I see_  
 _That if I were truly to be myself_  
 _I would break my family's heart,"_ I walk out of the storage shed with a bucket, and to the river which is next to our farm and family shrine.

 _"Who is that girl I see?_  
 _Staring straight back at me"_ I sing, looking into the river's water.  
 _Why is my reflection someone I don't know  
Somehow I cannot hide" _I swish my hands through the water, distorting my image.

 _"Who I am, though I've tried_  
 _When will my reflection show_  
 _Who I am inside?_  
 _When will my reflection show_  
 _Who I am, inside?"_ I walk to the family temple, and I go inside, praying for my brother, when an idea came to my head.

"Kamis, ancestors, give me the strength I need to fight." I pray, before going back inside to my home.

At midnight, everyone's fallen asleep, and I sneak into the family room, opening the cabinet, where an samurai uniform held. I take off my clothes, and bind my chest, cut my hair short with the sword, putting it into a samurai bun, before I put on the samurai uniform. Outside, it begins to rain, and my fingers grasp the sword, sheathing it. I grab my supplies, and I step outside in the rain, going to the stables, and I grab my strong, sturdy horse named Abby. It's a dark red horse, with a white spot on its nose, and I rode off through the night, into the direction of Tokyo, where the base camp nick named 'Ouran' is.

After two days, I finally arrived, and I'm easily the weakest person there. I set my tent off from the others, and I sigh, this will be tough. Gods, give me strength, and ancestors, bless me.

"I, am the great and powerful rabbit! I am fierce, and ruthless," a deep voice says from behind me, and I turn around, and see the giant, black shadow of a rabbit from outside my tent.

"I, am!" The tent flap lifts up, and a small, cute pink rabbit steps in. "Usa-chan! The guardian your ancestors sent to protect you!"

"My ancestors sent me...a cute pink rabbit?" I ask, looking at it with a raised eyebrow. "I am not cute! I am a ruthless rabbit!" It says, lifting up its fluffy little hands, letting out a loud squeak.

"Yeah, sure, can you do anything?" I ask, and the rabbit puts its hands infront of it... and a pink spark comes out.

"Bam! Isn't that cool?" It asks, looking up at me. "Sure..." I say. "Well, you need to get to the base camp, they're separating the groups."

I exit the camp, going to where everyone was lining up. I stand next to two twins, a tall man, a cute, little boy, and a scary looking red head.

"You gotta act like a man!" Usa-chan whispers from behind me, and I turn around, and he's hiding in my helmet. He somehow fits there. "Um, okay..." I whisper, gargling spit in my throat, and I attempt spitting it out, but it kinda just drips down.

The twins next to me laugh at my attempt, and I jerk my head up to look at them, and my spit drip kinda flops up, hitting them both in the face.

They stop laughing, and a devilish look appears on their face. They both swing for me, but I duck out of their way, and they run into the little boy behind me. The tall guy next to him suddenly pushes the twins down, and I run out of line, as the twins fall on to the people behind them, setting off a domino affect until I'm the last person standing up, and I look around. There's a few vases smashed on the ground, broken into a million pieces.

"What is going on here?" A cool voice says, and a raven haired boy in a kimono asks, pushing up his glasses, holding on to a black notebook.

"He started it!" The twins say, pointing at me. The raven haired boy walks up to me, and looks in his notebook, as a blonde boy steps out from behind him. "I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp," he says, glaring at me with purple eyes. "What's your name?" He demands.

"Sorry..." I say in my regular voice, but I clear it with a cough, "I mean, sorry you had to say that. But you know what it is when you get those manly urges ... just gotta KILL something. Fix things ... a cook outdoors...meat!" "I asked for your name, not your information." The blonde deadpans, and the raven haired glasses guy looks up from his book. "Your commanding officer just asked you a question!" "It's Araki, Nao, sir!" I say, with a quick bow.

"Alright gentleman, thanks to your new friend Nao, all of you have to pick up every last piece of glass from the smashed vases!" The commander demands, and everyone groans, looking at me, as I sheepishly smile, looking at the ground awkwardly.

We all finish at midnight, and I go back to my tent, fall asleep, than wake up to the sound of Usa-chan banging a gong.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty!" He says, and I put my pillow over my head. "5 more minutes," I grumble. "Nope! Today's your first day, I feel like a proud mama! Now, remember, it's your first day of training, so listen to your teacher and no fighting, play nice with the other kids, unless, of course, the other kids want to fight, then you gotta kick the other kid's ass." He says, and I bolt upright. "I forgot," I say, rubbing my forehead, and I get dressed as my brother, before going to the training field.

I walk down to the training field, and I see the tall red head, with the two twins, the cute little boy, and the tall, raven haired boy.

"Hey Nao, are you hungry?" One twin asks. "Cuz we will give you a knuckle sandwich!" The other finishes, and I gulp, as the surrounding soldiers laugh.

"Come on, Hika-chan and Kaoru-chan, you gotta be nice or else no one will want to be friends with you!" the little boy lectures, and my eyes widen. Chan?! "Hello!" he greets me, "I'm Honey, and this tall person is Mori, the twins are Hikaru and Kaoru, and the other red head boy is Ritsu Kasanoda!"

"Hello, I'm sorry for yesterday!" I greet, bowing. "Soldiers, you will all assemble swiftly and silently every morning! Don't disobey me!" The tall blonde walks out, without a shirt if I may add.

"Ooo, tough guy," Ritsu says, and the blonde takes out a bow and arrow, and shoots it at the top of a pole.

"Retrieve it." He orders, and Ritsu shrugs.

"Should be easy enough, Commander Suoh," he says, before walking over to the pole, and climbs it about 5 feet up, before he falls. "Nope, you aren't done, rookie. This is charming, this is handsome, and you need both to reach the lady at the top of the pole," he says, wrapping two medals around Ritsu's wrist...wait, lady? I look up at the top of the pole, and a brunette girl sits there, with a pink bow in her hair and a yellow kimono. Wasn't that just an arrow?

Everyone tries climbing the pole, but fails, and Commander Suoh sighs.

"Tamaki Suoh sighs in annoyance," the girl at the top narrates, and I raise a brow. His name is Tamaki? And why is the girl narrating?!

 _"Let's get down to business_  
 _To defeat Vines and Roses_  
 _Did they send me daughters_  
 _When I asked for sons?"_ He sings, tossing us wooden sticks to be used as swords. I grab mine, and I feel two hands grab the back of my shirt, putting something in. Something bites my back, and I freak out, swinging my wooden stick around, knocking people over. Tamaki launches himself over the crowd, getting in my face.

 _"You're the saddest bunch_  
 _I ever met, but you can bet_  
 _Before we're through"_ he grabs the front of my shirt, pulling me closer, and it's really awkward.  
 _Mister, I'll make a man_  
 _Out of you."_ He lets go, and I stumble back.

We all train for a week, and not much improvement happens, and I sigh. Who knew it was going to be this hard?

I'm walking back to my tent, but Commander Tamaki stops me. "Go home, you're not ready for war," he says, pushing me aside, walking off. My mouth opens like a fish, before I close it. No, I'll show him.

I walk to the where the pole is, and I wrap the medals around my wrists. I climb up the pole, using the medals to pull me up, and I reach the top, grabbing the girl in my arms as she says ''oo la la!'', and I slide down the pole using my legs, setting her on the ground.

"How did you become a girl?" I ask, and she laughs. "Oh, I was just cosplaying as an arrow," she says, and I just raise an eyebrow.

For the next few weeks, I majorly improved, and General Tamaki finally recognized me as a soldier, and so did the other soldiers. Hikaru and Kaoru stopped messing with me, and we became friends, along with Mori, Honey and Ritsu.

It's in the evening now, and I go to the lake, and get undressed. "This is a bad idea, Kako, what if someone finds you?" Usa-chan asks, and I roll my eyes.

"Just because I look like a man, doesn't mean I need to smell like one," I say, before I get into the lake.

"Hey Nao!" The twins say, running towards me NAKED and into the lake. I swim backwards, thank god the lake is murky. Fun fact, the color of a guy's lips is the color of the tip of their dick...very awkward.

"Oh, hey guys, I'm just taking a bath, so please ignore me," I say, swimming behind a rock.

"Don't do that! We're all friends, right?" The twins ask, swimming up to me with Ritsu following.

"Yeah, but I really don-"

"Hey Nao, look! I'm King of the Rock!" Honey says, and I look up and see him buck naked, standing on top of the rock, with Mori, who's also naked, standing behind him. I quickly avert my eyes, I really don't want to see any of that... the image is now seared into my mind, oh god!

"I bet Nao and I can take you guys," Ritsu says, and I drift away. "I really don't wanna take them anywhere," I say, thinking of a distraction.

"Is that a snake?" I ask in fake-shock, and Ritsu swims away in fear. "Snake!" He yells, and the other boys quickly swim away. I whistle, and Abby comes into the lake, and I hide behind her as I run from the lake, and get dressed.

I blink, and suddenly I'm going to war in the snowy mountains against Vines and Roses, who have their crests beared on their left arm and on their flags. I shiver, raising my sword.

"Prepare to fight for your life!" Captain Tamaki says, and we raise our cannons.

The hordes of Vines and Roses members rush forward over the hills, and I look at their mass. We can't possibly defeat them with a few cannons! I look at the mountains, and see a giant pile of snow gathering...

I quickly take one of the cannons, and run forward, hearing people shout behind me. I stop in the valley, and I raise my cannon, fitting it to the hill. The commander of Vines and Roses rushes towards me, with black, curly hair poking out from under his hat, and big brown eyes, with white teeth in a ferocious snarl.

I quickly light the cannon, and it hits the mountain. The commander laughs at me, "You missed," he says to me, a victorious smirk growing, but I smirk back at him. "I didn't," I say, and his smirk drops, as he hears the crumble of snow. I quickly pull out my sword, and attempt to hit him, but he deflects it, and I kick his feet out from under him, and I run away.

Abby quickly runs towards me, and I hop on as the avalanche consumes Vines and Roses, and we hide behind a rock when I feel a sharp pain in my side, and I see an arrow sticking out of the side, but I ignore it, as everyone safely hides behind the rock.

The avalanche stops, and everyone cheers my name, and I begin to feel woozy. "Nao! Nao!" Tamaki says, lightly hitting my face. "Stay with us!"

I blink, and I suddenly am in a bed, with no shirt on and just bandages across my chest and where I am hit.

"What a disgrace!" The medic, who wears a black cloak, throws me out of the tent and into the cold snow. Everyone gasps, "You're a girl!?" Captain Tamaki asks, and I stand up. "Yes, I am, I went in my injured brother's place, but gender doesn't matter!" I say, and glasses raises an eyebrow. "How so? Females exist to produce more males for war," he says, and my jaw drops.

"I just freaking killed all the Vines and Roses in an avalanche, but no one cares because I'm a girl?" I ask, outraged.

"I'll spare your life for the deed, but go home," Tamaki says, throwing me my sword. They leave, and I sigh in disgust. I quickly put on my armor and clothes, and hop on top of my horse. They can't shake me loose this easily.

I look over the cliff I'm on, and I see 5 people emerge from the avalanche, including the commander of Vines and Roses! I have to tell the army!

I ride quickly to meet up with them, and there's a parade going on in front of Emperor Haruhi's pink palace. I ride up to Captain Tamaki, "The Vines and Roses aren't dead!"

"Yeah right, you're just saying that." Tamaki says, and the Army's horses march further, and I'm ignored and cockblocked. This is so annoying! Someone's gotta listen to me...

I proceed to run into the crowd, but no one listens to me, ugh! I look up at the stair cases, and I see the Vines and Roses jump out at Emperor Haruhi, taking her into the pink castle.

Quickly riding up the staircase, I look at the twins, Tamaki, Honey, Mori and Ritsu. "Boys, follow me!" I say, running to the other side of the Pink Castle, where staircases to the basement are. "There's hidden tunnels into the castle's rooms, where do you think Emperor Haruhi will be held?" I ask, looking at Tamaki.

"Only the most charming, safe room in the building, Music Room 3," he says. "Than, let's go!" I say, going into the basement, and we walk through multiple tunnels, ending up in a bright pink room, where Emperor Haruhi was sitting tied up, looking bored.

"Surrender your castle to us!" The leader says, looking at Haruhi. "Eh, sounds too hard," he says, looking at us. "Just battle them our something and get it over with."

"Yes, Empress Haruhi," the twins say, and I look back at them. Empress? I look back at Emperor Haruhi, but now she's wearing a girly kimono, with long brown hair and bangs.

"What's even going on?" I say, running my fingers through my hair, pulling it out of the bun.

"Well, you're dreaming, Ake-chama!" Honey says, and I look at the hair in my fingers. It's purple and blue.

"Gah, even in my dreams the stupid host club is trying to invade my personal life!" I say, walking forward to Haruhi, where I slip on a banana peel, and I hit the floor, where the world turns black.

* * *

I open my eyes, and I look up and see the Host Club's and Ritsu's concerned faces hovering over me.

"Did we save Japan?" I ask, and they look at me confused. "Sorry, I had a dream," I say, sitting up, rubbing my forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Akemi! I opened up the door, and you were behind it and it hit you..." Ritsu says, and I shake my head. "Wasn't your fault, don't worry," I say, standing up.

"I'm out, hopefully a door won't hit me this time," I say jokingly, walking out the Host Club's door.

* * *

We're at 1,000 reads (Monday, 5/9/16), yayyyyyy! Next mark I wanna hit is 100 reviews, and I'm not counting multiple reviews from the same person, so I have a loooonnnng way to go. I'm thinking of doing a Black Butler fanfiction in the future? Maybe when I complete this fanfic.

Songs: The Greatest by Sia

I'll make a Man out of you(?): MulAN

Reflections: Mulan


	10. Chapter 10: Vines and Roses-The Review

Last chapter was the episode 'Haruhi in Wonderland,' but I thought it would be interesting to have our OC have her own adventure, but a bit different. But, apparently my writing was 'culturally insensitive' because I mixed elements of the chinese and japanese culture. Well, hopefully I didn't offend someone in my fanfiction that *isn't real life* because I mixed *chinese and japanese culture*. Of course, Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland based off England, but no one has a problem with OHSHC mixing their culture with Lewis Carroll's based off the story plot line, did they?

So please, if you have any problems with how I write, take your trash and dump it in my PM box instead of leaving a butt-hurt comment under an anonymous name on my profile. And, if you do feel like leaving mean messages on my review page, please use your username so I can reply back to you. Thank you!

Now, I'll answer some reviews.

DecievingAura: Oh, hA hA hA- I wrote this chapter a while ago when I wanted to involve the Kei kid, so don't worry, you'll see some Kei action in here **;)**

Mim: Okay, so I know that Nao always seems to leave when stuff happens, but I did this for a reason that is later mentioned. Also, if I want to push out chapters every Sunday with a longish length and good quality, I won't write out whole episodes. But, it's mostly for the first reason :D so don't worry about it.

So- also regarding the Honey issue, someone PMd me (they wished to remain anonymous) about it.

 **Basically, I'll have Akemi regarding Honey as a brother, but Honey might not feel that way.**

Now, on with the story!

* * *

"Welcome back ladies!" The Host Club says, as we are all outside today in the courtyard. We were dressed in male kimonos for shrines, if that's how I can describe it. My brain is just jumbled full of words...I can't remember... I was wearing a yellow version of Mori's outfit, with my hair tyed to my side with a dark gold ribbon. Ryo was wearing a dark red with white, with his hair in a pony tail extension, and black sandals.

"Oh Nao, don't the flowers look lovely?" My customers ask, and I nod. "I believe so, but I think you ladies look lovelier than these flowers." I say with a smile, and the girls swoon. A compliment a day keeps the banana-girls away.

All of the sudden, I see Hikaru and Kaoru kicking a soccerball to each other. "Hey Hikaru, sauce it over!" I shout out, and he looks at me.

"Comin' your way Nao!" He says, kicking the ball towards me. Of course, his aim was horrible, and it went over my head and to the direction of Haruhi. I turn around and face her, as she looks unsuspecting to what is about to happen.

"Haruhi, watch out!" I call out, and Tamaki's head perks up, as he notices the soccer ball coming in her direction. Tamaki proceeds to tackle Haruhi into the flower bushes.

"Oompf!" Haruhi says, as Tamaki stands on top of her, foot on his back, "Hikaru!" Tamaki yelled at Hikaru. "You came this close to snuffing out the light of Haruhi's life." he held up his pointer finger and thumb close together. Haruhi's eyebrow twitches, "So much for it being peaceful."

"Hey, it's your fault for not catching the ball in the first place, boss. Besides, it was aimed at Nao, but I miscalculated the distance." Hikaru complains, and Kaoru nods in agreement. "Yeah, who knew he'd be so bad at kemari? So much for him being the Genji of Ouran academy." Tamaki's eyebrow proceeds to twitch.

"Tamaki, I bet you can't even kick the ball if it's right in front of you." I say, and he glares at me angrily.  
"You think so? Well, check this out! Starlight Kick!' Tamaki says, as he suddenly changes into a soccer outfit, Gokus up, and kicks the ball high up into the sky, where it disappears for a moment, before it comes down through a window...of our school.

"Oh schnitzel pie!" I say, and everyone looks at me oddly. "I made it my duty to not swear during Host Club hours." I say with a shrug.

"We gotta go to that room to say sorry immediately!" Tamaki says hastily, before running in the direction of the building. The Host Club and I sigh, and follow after Tamaki.

* * *

"Really, we're terribly sorry about that." Tamaki says, bowing to the shaggy haired President of the Newspaper Club.

"Don't worry. It's no big deal. Could've happened to anyone, right? Just a ball flying through a window and hitting me upside the head." he replies with a calm, collected voice. Akira Komatsuzawa, 3rd year. Not handsome on the outside, or the inside. I snagged one of his newspapers before, and it's all gossip. Even the girls who come and visit me don't read his gossip paper, it's all old news from the week previous. I agree.

"Please accept our apology." Tamaki repeats, bowing his head.

"Well, this works out perfectly. I was just thinking about approaching the host club about a cover story. I don't suppose you'd be interested." Akira says, smirk on face. Boy, you just want some juicy gossip!

Haruhi looks confused, "I didn't even know we had a newspaper."

"Correction, it's a gossip tabloid." I say, and she looks at me with a raised brow. "Rich bastards..." she mutters under her breath.

"You know, I guess we have kind of lost sight of the truth because we've been so worried about drawing more in readers. It's a shame we're just now realizing our error. Now that the paper is at risk. We finally realize what we should have been reporting to the students of Ouran. Help us, please. For our last paper of this semester, we'd like to do an up-close special edition revealing the charms of Ouran's host club members. I'm begging you. Without your help, our club will close." Nice try, I've seen every trick in the book, and I've watch Frozen before. Play the nice guy, than when they find a crack in the egg they rip it open immediately. If our rich-looking club suddenly looks poor to the rich-girl customers, no one will want to attend. Besides, if their club closes, at least we got dragged down with them.

"You can count on us." Tamaki says, giving the thumbs up. "On behalf of the host club, I..."

"We'll have to decline." Kyoya says coolly, he, of course, doesn't want gossip to tarnish his perfect image. Same here.

"But Kyoya, he got hurt because of me! What's the big deal?" Tamaki whines, pouting like a puppy dog.

"Sorry, we have a policy prohibiting us from sharing any personal information with anyone other than our guests. But we'd be more than happy to pay any medical expenses related to your injury." Kyoya says, ignoring Tamaki's faces, as he pushes his glasses up his face.

"Our Host Club doesn't really care for gossip columns, but thank you for your offer anyway." I say, besides, I got the best gossip around, and so does Renge. We have had multiple gossip sessions during Host Club hours, it's just GLORIOUS. Who knew how much goes on at this school? The otaku in the basement, of course!

"I understand. Well, I guess you really can't erase the sins of the past, can you? People won't even give you the opportunity to try and redeem yourself." Akira's fingers twitch around the ice bag at his head. "Aah! My head is killing me." Oh god, he's using the pity card. Penalty to Akira!

"President!" his two minions say.

"I'm okay. Don't worry, you two. Oh no, I'm getting dizzy again."

"President!"

"No wait. I'm fine... aah!"

"Stop already! We get it, you want us to do it, so you keep pulling the guilt/pity card, stop acting pathetic!" I say in frustration.

"We'll help. We will rally the power of our host club, and we can re-establish the newspaper club together!" Tamaki says valiantly, pointing towards the ceiling.

"I'll sit this round out." I say, pushing my glasses up as they slipped down my nose. "But, I believe if we do let you write an article, we evaluate what you will want to publish, before you publish it."

"I agree with Nao, we would consider doing this for you all, but we most thoroughly evaluate all information you want to publish." Kyoya says, pulling out his death book.

"We'll stay out of this." The twins say, and Mori, Ryo, Haruhi and Honey nod in agreement, as we all, save for Tamaki, walk out the door.

"Hold it! How can you be so heartless? These men are about to lose their club. Don't you feel sorry for them? Their family is breaking up! As your president, I demand you help them! And that is a direct order!" Tamaki scolds, as we all stop and turn around.

"We're not going to do it!" Kyoya, Hikaru and Kaoru say. Tamaki turns white, puts his hands to his head and screams in agony.

"Thank you for the kind offer, but I'll refuse." Ryo says, with a perfect smile. We all go to Music Room 3, and change back into our uniforms, save for Tamaki who's in the corner, rolling a ball sadly on the ground.

"Well, he's obviously upset with us." Hikaru says, looking at Tamaki.

"Yeah, he hasn't even changed clothes." Kaoru responds, and I look at Tamaki.

"Tamaki, stop being so childish!" I say, hands on hips. "We can't let our family be dragged down by gossip."

"A club is like a family. Their family is about to be broken up. I feel sorry for them." Tamaki says sadly, and we all sigh. Tamaki, PLEASE, let it go.

"I hate to give in, but would it really be that bad to help them out with their newspaper?" Haruhi asks, and the twins look at her confused.

"Wha? Hey, since when are you taking his side?" the twins ask, and Haruhi sighs, before she looks over to Tamaki with a serious expression.

"Since never. Just listen, okay? I know any moment now he's gonna look over here with those puppy-dog eyes he uses when he wants something and none of us will be able to say no, and so he'll win." Haruhi says, and Ryo nods in agreement.

Tamaki looks up at us, with small, watery purple eyes. The evil, cute puppy eyes. Though I am immune, I cannot withstand it forever. Last time, I could withstand it for 5 hours when my brother wanted me to give him my allowance so he could buy this new comic book.

"Those are the eyes." Haruhi says, and I shudder. "Death's eyes." Tamaki looks down, and Haruhi runs away while she could.

Tamaki looks up, and the twins shudder, and Tamaki looks down again. "Puppy-dog eyes," the twins mutter, before they run off, leaving Ryo, Kyoya and I.

Tamaki looks up at me, and I feel myself caving in. A hand is placed on my shoulder, and I look at the hand's owner, which is Ryo.

"Let's go," he whispers, before he takes my hand, running away. I stumble for a moment, but I run away with him to where Honey and Mori is sitting.

"There will be some conditions." Kyoya says, and Tamaki chibifies. "Woof!"

"The outline for their article will be submitted by us. Interviews are strictly prohibited. And it is vital that our clients' identities be kept confidential."

Tamaki grins, "Woof woof!"

"Does this work with everyone?" Kyoya asks, and we all nod. I look down at Ryo's hand, which is still clasped to mine. "Ryo, you can let go." I say, and he looks down at me and smiles. "I'll hold on for a bit longer."

I feel my cheeks flush, and I look away from his face. He's WAY taller than me, about the height of Mori. I'm about 5'5", and Mori is 6'5", so how tall is Ryo? I can't really see the details of Ryo's face either... or even really look into his eyes.

* * *

The next day, Tamaki wanted us to do 'commoner things' that would make our Host Club seemed 'open to all social classes!'

"The da-ruma doll felllllll OVeR!" Tamaki says, turning around, making us stop walking. Basically, red light green light. We repeated this until Haruhi won, which Tamaki praised her for, when she just sweat dropped in response.

"I hope this ends soon..." I mutter to myself, and Akira walks to me. "You're one of two scholarship students, correct? Araki Nao?" He asks, and I nod.

"Yup."

"May I ask you some questions?" He asks, gliding over to me.

"I don't see why not." I reply, and he whips out his thick **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)** notebook.

"Why did you join the club?" He asks, and I think. "I needed an extracurricular activity, and Host Club seemed cool and I needed cash." I reply, and he writes that down.

"So, you're just one of the examples of how the Suoh family loves to flaunt their power over commoners by using money. Am I correct?" He asks, and I deadpan.

"I joined on my free will, not because of having negative relations with Tamaki." I reply, and he raises a brow.

"Now if you would, please tell me all about Tamaki's dark side." He asks, and I laugh, "Tamaki doesn't have a 'dark side', unless you count that cheesy, fake movie we made. But everyone adopted a fake persona for that. Tamaki is 'king' of our Host Club for his cheery personality."

President Ugly deadpans. "That can't be right? You expect me to believe that a group of high schoolers actually enjoys playing these childish games? And he has a cheery personality all the time?"

"I enjoy it, I think it's not too bad, and yeah." I reply, and his brow twitches as he furiously scribbles in his notebook.

"Of course you'd say that, you're a commoner," he mutters, and I snatch the notebook from his hands, and run away.

"Hey! Give that back!" He says, as I run off laughing. I don't even have to run that far when he's already out of breath. I quickly rip out pages 9-16 that have today's date on them, as I shove them in my pocket.

I jog back over to him, and toss him the journal. "All you have is boring gossip! Ask the girls, they know what's going on! We're going to be doing this for the rest of the day, so you can just leave." I tell him, before I run over to Tamaki who's starting the next game. I hear their loud, dramatic sighs, as they drag their feet back to their office.

We play kick the can, and I gasp.

"Guys, let's play hide and go seek!" I say, and Tamaki applauds.

"Wonderful idea, Nao, my son!" He says, grabbing me by the hands and spinning me around. The world blurs, and my stomach rumbles.

"Tamakiiiiiii... I'm getting dizzy, set me down!" I say, and he stops, with a sad expression on his face.

"I'll seek." Kyoya says, facing the tree. "1...2..."

The twins grab my hand, and lead me behind a tree.

"Wha-" I begin, but they shush me. "We're going to confront the gossip guy, but Tamaki is so oblivious so we're having Tamaki and Haruhi leave for now." they reply, and I nod.

* * *

President Ugly runs his hands through his hair, as he quickly walks to his office, notebook in hand.  
"I'm writing the article."

Ukyo, who is minion #1, gasps. "But wait, Mr. President."

Sakyo, the #2 in the minion pair, looks at Ukyo. "It's too dangerous to write gossip about Suouh. You don't have any evidence, sir."

"Who needs evidences? All I have to do is expose him. Everyone will see it. If I set my mind to it, I can imagine any number of articles that would cause a commotion among the idiots at this academy. I'm going to expose Tamaki for the twit he is!" He enters his office, and gasps to see the two, devilish twins who are sitting on his desk.

"Wha-" he says, and the twins confront him, with Mori, Honey, and Kyoya using the finishing moves on him.

"You're nothing but his lackeys. Tamaki's holding his parents' power over all of you."

"Not true," I say, sitting on a throne made up of gossip newspapers that failed to sell. President Ugly turns towards me and gasps.

"Whe-when did you get here? And why did you make a throne out of our newspapers?"

"Duh, 'cuz I'm a drama queen. And, no one joined because of Tamaki's family, we joined based off of the feelings we felt in our heart." I say, putting my hand over my heart.

"We all agree with Nao, we all love Tamaki and his personality. We don't hang out with Tama-chan because of his parents. We all like being around him and that's why we choose to be here." Honey says, and we all nod in agreement.

Kyoya reveals how we taped the President and his ugly words, and I reached in my pocket and pulled out the papers.

"And, if vocal evidence isn't enough, I have all the things you wrote about us today. Let me see... page 2 of today's interview..." I say, pulling out the papers.

"'Tamaki is an idiot. He plays children's games, and expects people to have fun. Haha, what a loser. He may be able to kick a ball, which I can't do, but that doesn't mean he's more dominant. I can write! Ha! HA!'" I read with a snarky voice from the pages, and I look up at President Ugly, giving him an odd look, and he's blushing like crazy.

"Don't read page 7!" He says, and I laugh. "Oh hun', you just made me want to." I say, pulling out page 7, and my jaw drops.

"Araki Nao has a nice ass for a commoner." I read, laughing, and I hold up the paper for everyone in the club to see. There's a horribly drawn stick figure with shaggy hair and glasses, donned with two round 'C's' as butt cheeks. "That's the nicest compliment I've gotten all day! Thanks Prez!" I say, and he and his club of minions rush out of the room while we all laugh, Mori more like deep grunts and Kyoya more like a chuckle. Me? Belly laughs that give me abs of steel!

We all go back outside, and eventually find Tamaki and Haruhi in the rose garden.

"Let's go inside and have cake now!" Honey says, and Tamaki smiles. "That does sound good. Cake, cake!"

"Kyoya, I was wondering. Is the Suouh family really that big a deal around here?" I ask, turning towards Kyoya. He smirks, and pushes up his glasses.

"Well, the foundation of their business lies in corporate finance. But they do have some extensive real estate as well. You've heard of the Roy Grand Hotel and the Outo Theatre. They also have a hand in other things, like school management, for example."

"Kyoya, it's Ouran, isn't it?" I ask, looking at the Host Club as they raced to see who could get inside first.

"Yes, you're right, Nao. You know, if you think about it, you're able to attend school here because of financial aid you received from Tamaki's family. You should be grateful to them."

"Kyoya, I'm grateful for everyday I spend here at Ouran." I say, looking at him. "Where I come from isn't very happy. But, we all have our own issues we need to sort out in our own ways, and my issues are a mess, but I'm working on it."

Kyoya looks at me shocked, before he smirks. "I agree, we all have our own issues, don't we?"

"Nao! Kyoya! Hurry it up, or we're going to leave you! I would hate for you to end up lost again!" Tamaki calls out, waving at us, and I wave back. "Be there soon!" I call back, and I turn to Kyoya. "Let's go!" I say cheerfully, grabbing his hand and running to Tamaki, as Kyoya follows.

* * *

Before summer, I've always made it a habit to clean my room. But, this time, I was cleaning my own home! Which was interesting, to say, as I now consider this small, shabby apartment my...home.

Home, it's a nice word. I, personally, really like this word now.

It was Saturday, and on Monday, I'm leaving for Karuizawa with Haruhi! I got the break off from Miyako, and Haruhi's dad's friend had 2 open positions for this summer at their pension, and Haruhi got me in.

I was dressed as Nao, because I might visit Haruhi later, maybe meeting up with Ritsu and fitting some tutoring in before the break e-

 _Bump-bu-bump!_

My front door is banged on, and I sigh. I walk to the front door, and look in the peephole. There stood...the blasted Host Club! Well, I didn't see Ryo, but it's the whole stinkin' club!

"Nao isn't home right now, please leave a message." I say robotically, hoping they get the point, as I spy on them through the peephole.

"Hi Nao! We're just stopping by to say hi, possibly han-" Tamaki says cheerfully, before the twins elbow him.

"Baka! Nao's home, he just wanted to trick us into leaving!" The twins say, and Tamaki sweats. "Oh..." he says, and Haruhi sighs, rolling her eyes. "Hey Nao, we brought food." she says, holding up a bag.

"What's inside..." I say, and Honey smiles. "Red velvet cake!" He says, and I sigh.

That's my weakness, and Honey knew that!

"Fine, you guys can come in, but my house is really messy right now, so I'll be out in five minutes to let you guys in." I say with a sigh, and the boys cheer, minus Kyoya, Haruhi and Mori.

"Yay, we're going to see where Nao lives!" The idiot says, clapping his hands together excitedly like a demented seal (A/N- a demon ciel).

I turn from the peephole, and look at my apartment. The main area looks clean enough, with no random, girly stuff laying around. I walk to my bedroom, and I see dresses laying on my bed, makeup all over my dresser, romance novels, my computer with unfinished lists of hacker-jobs, a bag of pads, bra on my bed stand, and a bunch of ACE bandaging on my dresser.

Quickly, I shove everything in a drawer, and than I lock my bedroom door with a spare key. You can never be TOO careful. I hide the spare key in the back of my refrigerator, and I turn towards to my front door, sighing.

I walk to the front door, open it, and the Host Club looks at me with excited eyes.

"Nao's OWN apartment is going to be so..." Tamaki says with an excited smile, stepping inside, before the smile fades.

"...small?" He questions, tilting his head to the side, looking around 1/2 of my apartment from where he stood.

"I wasn't lyin' when I said it was small," I say, and the twins looked at me with arched brows.

"Where do you sleep?" They ask, and I point towards my bedroom door. "Locked." I say, and they sigh.

"Wow! You're apartment is so cozy, Nao!" Honey says, and I sweat drop. Cozy is just another word for tiny when one is trying to comfort another...

"Yeah, like I said previously, I live alone," I say, scratching the back of my neck. I wasn't exactly dressed to the nines, I had a pair of grey sweatpants on, with a large sweat shirt promoting a zoo, and my hair in a half-assed bun. I was going to do a starbucks run after this...

"Oh, we didn't believe you," Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses, "we thought you were just embarrassed about your family, we never thought you'd actually be flying solo."

"Well, I think it's actually quite nice." Haruhi says, looking around my apartment. "It's, of course, going to be quieter, which is perfect for studying too." Wow Haruhi, all you think about is studying.

"Well, where should we eat the cake together?" Tamaki asks, and I gesture my hands around the apartment.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Tamaki, but I don't exactly own a table for 8. Two people can eat at the table, a couple on the couch, as long as they don't spill, and a couple at the counter. Everyone else has to eat on the floor." I say, and his jaw drops.

"The floor?" He asks dramatically, and I face palm. "Tamaki, we won't be actually eating the food off of the floor, it'll be off the plates, you'll just be sitting on the floor."

"You have a kamikatsu?" He asks, and I shake my head. "Nope."

"But how do you eat with your family? Your friends who visit? Akemi?" He asks, and I shrug.

"Honestly, you're the first lot of people who've been here other than Akemi or me," I say, and their jaws drop.

"Really?" The twins ask, and I nod.

"Really."

"If I may ask," Kyoya asks, "why do you never let us into your life? Or anyone, really, like your family, per say?"

The question was like an arrow to my chest, did I really never let people into my life?

"Uh-" I say, and the twins nod.

"Kyoya's right, you never do anything with us that's not necessary for Host Club." Hikaru says, "And, you never hang out with us, or tell us about yourself. You always let everyone else do the talking." Kaoru finishes, and I awkwardly scratch the back of my neck.

"Well..." I say, and Honey looks up at me seriously. "Nao, we really care for you, but you always leave right away. You seem to know about us, but we know nothing about you." Geez Honey, that didn't sound so cute...

"Yeah." Mori says with a nod, and Tamaki crosses his arms.

"You've always been a family member, Nao, it's finally time you started acting like one!" Tamaki dramatically demand, before pointing at me. "And, since you're a family member, you have to participate in family activities, and tell us about yourself!"

"Okay, what should I tell you about myself." I say, and Tamaki turns from me. I will just tell them basic information, duh. Besides, the only reason I left was for hacking jobs, homework, or reading books in English and Japanese, so I could just slightly cut back on my hacking job time.

"Nao, you don't have to say no! You turn away from us, and it hur-" Tamaki spins around to look at me, jaw slightly agape. "Okay? Okay?!" He asks, and I shrug. "Well, yeah."

"B-b-b-but!" Tamaki stutters, and the twins start laughing. "Boss, you shoulda've known Nao would say yes immediately!" Hikaru says, and Kaoru nods in agreement. "Nao, our lord wanted to take you to a park to see a family, and say that's how we should act like, and he had a WHOLE elaborate plan. He spent all night planning it." Kaoru finishes, and I dead pan. I should've known, knowing Tamaki.

"Well, Tamaki, since you wanna know more about me, what do you want to know?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"U-um...what's your favorite color...?" He asks, and the club and I sweatdrop.

"Black and green." I reply, and Tamaki smiles. "Well, those are marvelous colors! You must like it because the color black is like the dark eyelashes of a beautiful woman, and green like the beautiful leaves of tree-"

"Nah, I just like the color black a lot, and green is a great color." I reply, and Tamaki sweatdrops, turns white, before hiding in my corner.

"You may want to stop him now," Kyoya says, and I arch a brow. "Stop him? From what?"

Looking towards Tamaki, I see little mushrooms starting to pop out of the floor...what the actual frickle frackle?!

"Tamaki, stop. Or else, you're banned from my house." I reply, and he instantly pops up from the floor.

"I'm back!" He says cheerfully, and I roll my eyes.

"Nao-chan, can you go make us lunch? I bet your cooking is great!" Honey says, and I think. I'm pretty sure I have some tortilla shells...

"Shhh! Honey!" The twins and Tamaki say, covering Honey's mouth. "We suddenly intrude in Nao's house, and you're asking for Nao to make you food?" The twins ask, and Honey shrugs. "How rude!" Tamaki says, and I sigh.

"I'll make some quesadillas," I reply, walking over to the counter, pulling the tortilla shells from the refrigerator, and the mini grill from the pantry.

As I grill the quesadillas, I feel everyone, save for Haruhi, watching my every move. "Yes? Why are you all staring?" I ask, flipping the next quesadilla.

"We've never seen how quesadillas are made," the twins say, and everyone nods. I look at Haruhi, and we both sweat drop.

"Well, you slap a tortilla on the grill, and than you let it grill." I say, and Tamaki's eyes widen.

"Really? Can I try?" He asks, and I shrug, passing him the tortilla and cheese. He sprinkles the cheese onto the tortilla, before looking at me.

"I slap it on?" He asks, and I nod. Tamaki shrugs, before picking up the quesadilla...without folding it? What is he going to do?

He lightly sets it on the grill, before smiling. "Than, I slap!" He says, before taking his hand, hitting the quesadilla. His hands seem larger than usual (like yaoi ones?!) as his first 3 finger tips don't hit the quesadilla, but the grill itself!

"Baka!" I say, as Tamaki pulls back his fingers quickly, stuffing them in his mouth, sucking. He groans out a scream, and I sigh.

"Pull out your fingers," I say, and Tamaki shakes his head, like an upset child. "It's gonna keep hurting, Tamaki..." I say, and he exhales through his nose, before pulling out the fingers.

Kyoya looks over my shoulder, pushing up his glasses. "First degree burn, I believe, for the amount of time it was on the grill."

"Yeah, it's gonna hurt for a week or so," I say, before I walk to the faucet, turning on the cool water. Grabbing Tamaki's hand, I stick it under the water.

"Stay still," I order, before I walk away from him. How rude, no 'thank you'!

I finish up the quesadillas, before I put them on plastic plates, pushing them to the club, and Tamaki, who now has white bandages wrapped around his finger.

"Good?" I ask, taking a bite of mine, as the club all nod vigorously. "So good!" The twins say, mouths full of cheesy quesadillas.

"That's good," I say, before taking a bite of my quesadilla.

"Haruhi, Nao, wanna come to Switzerland with us for summer break?" Honey says casually, and I stop chewing.

Switzerland?! I gulp down my quesadilla, and I raise a brow. "How can you so casually suggest you're going to Switzerland?!" I ask, and everyone, save for Haruhi, look at me oddly.

"Everyone travels around globally a lot," Hikaru says, "most people go every other week, too." Kaoru says, and Haruhi and I sweat drop.

"Rich people..." we mutter, shaking our heads.

* * *

Summer break, in Karuizawa! Finally! Of course, I went as Akemi.

I was wearing a yellow bandana, with my blue/purple hair hanging in two braids out of it. I was wearing a pink romper with t-shirt sleeves, and a yellow apron with ruffled sleeves, and black flats.

"This is so refreshing, being away from the Host Club." I say, sweeping the deck of the patio.

"Agreed, Akemi. It's so weird, seeing you look almost completely different from Nao, I mean, Kako?" She asks, and I laugh. "I get it's confusing, but it's the only way." I say with a sigh, when a light bulb dings over Haruhi's head.

"Akemi, what if you apply to Ouran under the scholarship again this year for the second year students? Since the scholarships we won were for 3 years, when you're a second year you can get one for 2 years." She says, and I think.

"That would be a good idea, but I've actually grown to kinda like the Host Club. Besides, Akemi is supposed to be a college student." I say, "How would the girls react when they see the girl they know as a college student applying to be a second year?"

"No, apply as Kako."

"What?" I ask, as I stop sweeping and look at Haruhi. "Apply as Kako," she repeats, picking up a tray of empty dishes, "you can apply as Kako, and use my last name. You can say we're cousins."

"But, I'll look majorly similar to Nao, how would I pull that off without Kyoya, Tamaki or the twins getting suspicious?" I ask, setting the broom against the wall, as I pick up the watering pitcher. "I can't, that's the answer. I'll be the exact same height, eye color, and body shape as Nao, but with boobs and a body shape that look like Akemi. Can't do that. Besides, if Nao suddenly dropped out and a similar looking person came in, wouldn't that arouse suspicion?"

"Yeah, but do you want to be a boy the rest of your life? You'd have to apply for scholarships at colleges as a boy, jobs too. How are you going to have a dating life when you get older?" She asks, wiping the table with a wet rag, and I pause.

"You're right... maybe I should go to Lobelia's?" I ask jokingly. She scoffs at me, and flicks the wet towel at me.

"Hey!" I say, taking my watering pitcher and pouring it over her head, as the water dumps over her head, making her look like a wet cat.

"You're SO dead!" She says, laughing, picking up a bucket of water.

"No, Haruhi, makeup is expensive!" I say, running from her and to the front yard of the pension.

"Get back here!" She exclaims, chasing after me, and I laugh. "No way, Jose!" I say, grabbing the hose and turning it on, spraying it at Haruhi.

All of the sudden, wind starts whipping about us, and we look up at the sky.

"Damn that private helicopter, my wig might shift!" I say, placing my hand on my head to hopefully prevent my wig from shifting. "Wait, private helicopter?" I ask, turning my hose off.

Now, the boys in the helicopter were disappointed to see Haruhi and Akemi stop having their _refreshing wet_ battle. They all thought Haruhi looked really cute laughing, as she chased the older girl with the bucket of water. But, while Haruhi looked cute, the slightly damp, older, more feminine Akemi looked _hot_ with the water droplets shining like crystals in her hair, with plump pink lips and sparkling blue eyes. Her romper showed some of her womanly curves, which had all the boys in the helicopter blushing slightly, or majorly (like Mori, Kyoya, Tamaki, Ryo, Hikaru and Kaoru).

The private helicopter lands, and I look at it, as Tamaki and his crew step out.

"Greetings, to my daughters, we have come to spend summer break with you!" He exclaims, and I deadpan.

"Thanks, now leave." I say, as the helicopter flies off. "Nope! I want to learn more about my other daughter and my Host Club daughter!" He exclaims, and I just twist the hose, squirting **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)** water at Tamaki.

"Bad dog, go away." I say, as he pouts and Haruhi laughs. I turn off the hose, looking at Tamaki. This baka better get the point...

"Well, I guess you could say I'm just _dripping_ with good looks."

The hose than went on full blast at Tamaki.

* * *

We were inside the pension, with Tamaki donned in towels, as everyone greeted my boss.

"Why don't you call me Misuzu-chi?" She says, spinning around. "I just _looooove~_ being surrounded by hot boys!"

"He's an old friend of Ranka's. They used to work together at the same shop years ago." Kyoya says, pushing up his glasses.

"I wanna kermit now." I say, looking at the Host Club.

"I went into business for myself 2 years ago, and believe you me. Running this adorable little pension is like living a fairy-tale." Misuzu explains, looking at the Hosts.

Honey nods, "So then, is Haru-chan and Ake-chama like your indentured servants?" Haruhi and I sweat drop, and Kyoya smirks.

"They're more like unpaid employees. This also happens to be Ranka's preferred method for keeping track of his daughter while he's busy working, and Akemi, why are you here?" Kyoya asks, arching a brow.

"For fun!" I say with jazz hands, and Kyoya raises a brow. "I'm on paid leave." I explain with a sigh, and he nods.

Tamaki looks confused, "How do you know all of this stuff, Kyoya?"

Misuzu gets a sparkly look in their eyes. "'Take my little girl under your wing' he says! He practically begged me, and since I still can't afford the expensive hired help, it works out for everyone! And, he recommended another lovely woman, which is totally amazing too! Both are model employees, really. Akemi even told me she'll do backyard sessions on Friday nights to rope in a crowd! It's such a shame I can't pay them anything. Oh, tell me what you boys think of this cute little apron she is wearing. I made it myself. And, I made Akemi's romper! Adorable, isn't it! Totally hugs her body in the right places, and fits her boo-"

"You are an quite exquisite seamstress." Kyoya says, hastily cutting her off, as the boys blush.

"A job, huh? I don't get it? You turned down our invitation to Bali for this, Haruhi and Akemi?" Hikaru and Kaoru ask.

"And we even asked Haruhi and Akemi and Nao to go with us to Switzerland, didn't we?" Honey asks Mori, looking up at him.

"We did." Mori replies, looking at me.

"I had a passport, but I was fine with doing some extra work." I say, swatting them off.

Haruhi sighs, "Yeah well, I still don't have a passport, remember?"

"Speaking of passports, where did Nao go? We haven't heard from him all summer break, we'd think he'd say something." the twins say, and I quickly think of an excuse.

"Yeah, Akemi, do you know about Nao?" Tamaki asks, and Kyoya arches a brow.

"I was wondering too, but I didn't want to seem rude." Ryo says, looking at me in the eyes.

"Nao... is visiting family. And, I don't really like Nao's family, so I didn't come along with him." I admit, so I was only half lying.

"Nao's brother, Dan, is so nice though! Why don't you like him, Ake-chama?" Honey asks, and I shake my head.

"I love Dan, he's really nice and polite, I just don't like Nao's mother and father." I say, and they all go quiet.

"What's their relationship?" Kyoya asks, and I look at him in the eyes. "A shitty one. Especially Nao and his father. I decided it would be best to stay out of that drama, and have a nice, easy break."

Haruhi puts her hand on my shoulder, looking at me with concerned eyes. "Nao has a tough family life, and they don't really get along that well, so if you want to know Nao-facts, I'd think it's best if you ask Nao himself." Haruhi says, and I nod in agreement. "Yeah, it's hard for even me to explain how Nao works with his family." I say, scratching my neck, and we all walk outside, sitting at a table, while Tamaki lurks in the bushes.

"Hey, Akemi, Haruhi, why were your cell phones..." Hikaru asks, "turned off?" Kaoru finishes.

"Forgot," I say with a shrug, and Tamaki perks up.

"Did you say my daughters have a cell phone?" Tamaki asks, and Haruhi pulls out an iPhone 5, while I pull out my flip phone.

"We convinced Haruhi she should borrow one of ours, so we can keep in touch. It's a part of a special friends and family plan." The twins say.

"Yeah, we're in each other's top five." Hikaru says, and Kaoru nods. "So is Nao, but Akemi, why do you have Nao's old cell?"

"Because I didn't have a cell phone up until Nao got one of yours...he...he..." I say, scratching the back of my neck

"Top five!? Friends and family? Nao and Haruhi owning phones?! But wait, I'm your daddy and buddy, so I'm a part of the plan too, right?" Tamaki asks, grabbing both of our hands.

Haruhi sweat drops, "Senpai, whatever planet you're on, come home. Speaking of which, why are you even here? I'm gonna have to see you guys every day when the new term starts. Don't I have the right to spend my summer vacation the way I want to?"

"You guys, I can see where Haruhi is coming from, girls need girl time." I say, looking at Tamaki specifically.

Kyoya pushes up his glasses, and gives his signature devil smirk. "According to the hand book, jobs are prohibited."

Oh shit. Thank god Akemi didn't attend Ouran...

Haruhi nervously sweats, "I, uh, had no idea."

"Hey did you hear? Haruhi went and got herself a job without the school's permission." Hikaru mock-whispers to Kaoru, and he smirks.

"No way. That's grounds for expulsion." Kaoru responds, and we both sweat drop.

"I think Karuizawa is way better than Switzerland anyway. Totally cute!" Honey says, and Mori nods.

"Well, I was supposed to go overseas for my family business, but I cancelled," Ryo says with a shrug.

"Besides, oversea travel is so exhausting." Kyoya agrees with Ryo, looking at us all.

Tamaki sighs dramatically, before flipping his hair. "Of course, you do have the right to spend your vacation as you please. But then again, like it or not, so do we. And you know, I for one find pension Misuzu to be exceptionally charming."

Haruhi and I look at each other, and I look up at the sky. "Nooooo!" I cry out in anguish.

 **TAMAKI'S THEATER!**

Haruhi enters Tamaki's room, with a tray of fresh eggs, grapes and bacon.

"Rise and shine, my sleepy-headed senpai. Haruhi's made a special breakfast just for you!" She says, holding out the tray to Tamaki, talking in third person like freaking Elmo. Possible Elmo fetish?

Tamaki pulls Haruhi close, and she blushes.

"Oh, how lovely. Come sit with me. Stay a while." he says, but Haruhi dramatically turns away.

"No, I can't. I'm an employee here and you're one of our honored guests. It's not allowed! I'm sorry senpai... I'd really love to stay!" She calls out, before setting the plate down and running from the room. Akemi appears in the doorway where Haruhi fled from.

"What did you do to my beloved friend?" Akemi asks, as tears stream down her face. "I care for Haruhi like my sister!"

"Hush, my darling," Tamaki says, pulling Akemi close to his chest, as he wipes away her tears. "Akemi..."

"I-I can't!" Akemi says, pulling from his grasp. "I'm older than you, I'm not a cougar!" She says, and Tamaki lightly grabs her hand, before tilting her chin up, looking in her lovely blue eyes.

"But who's to find out if it's only the two of us? Stay here with me, and silly rules of society will no longer matter." he says, before sitting down on his bed, pulling Akemi on to his lap.

"Oh Tamaki!" Akemi says, as Tamaki caresses her face. "Never let go!"

 **TAMAKI'S THEATER CLOSE**

"Senpai?" Haruhi asks, snapping Tamaki out of his daze.

Misuzu is on the porch, looking at the Host Club.

"I'm so sorry boys. I'd love to have you all as guests, but I'm afraid there's only one vacant room left." S/he says, bowing as an apology.

"Yeah, since Haruhi and I are bunking," I say, as Haruhi and I put our hands on each of eachother's hips. "Since we're besties!" We both say in high, fake girly voices, before we laugh.

Tamaki sighs, before flipping his hair.

"Only one room, you say? Well, that settles it. I'll have to stay here to represent the club!" Tamaki says, and Honey pouts.

"That isn't fair Tamaki!"

The Host Club starts complaining, before Hikaru and Kaoru each hold up a hand to silence them.

"Here's an idea. We bet you'll like it. Why not hold a little competition?" Hikaru asks.

"Call it "The Guest Relations Odd Jobs Contest at Pension Misuzu."" Kaoru finishes.

"It's very simple. We all just lend a hand around the place for the afternoon. And whoever makes the best impression on Misuzu-chi gets to sleep in the vacant guest bedroom." the twins chorus, and Misuzu applauds.

"That's brilliant! I think it's an absolutely delightful idea! Yes, the winner of the contest will be determined by how refreshing they are! Remember, refreshing is the name of the game in guest relations! Oh, and since today is Friday, Akemi will have a backyard session. How refreshing to close the day of refreshingness!"

"Oh yeah, I'll need someone to pass out flyers in the town for tonight's session," I say, and all the boys raise their hands, save for Kyoya.

"I'll do it!" They say, and Haruhi just looks at me of the corner of my eye. "Well, um, a number between 1-10, what's the number I'm thinking of?" I ask, and they all think.

"1!" Tamaki says.

"2!" The twins chorus.

"10!" Mori and Honey say.

"9." Kyoya says.

"6." Ryo says, and I point at Ryo. "The number was 6, are you okay with passing out flyers?" I ask, and they nod.

"Yup! See you all later!" Ryo says, taking the flyers and running out the backyard.

For the rest of the day, I tend to the kitchens with meals, and do turn down services, before heading out to where Haruhi and Kyoya are.

"-f course. Winning means I end up staying here alone, which frankly doesn't appeal to me. I'll just sit back and watch things unfold then head for the cottage."

"Wait, you have a cottage out here, yet you are still at the pension?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Kyoya smirks, "Well, all of our families have cottages up here, I am just staying to watch who wins."

Haruhi looks confused. "Then, why make such a fuss about staying here? I could just tell you who wins. Or, are you here to listen to Akemi tonight?" she replies, and Kyoya turns his head to the side, to look at the field where the Host Club was on.

"So, who's your favorite to win, Akemi, Haruhi? There must be someone you have in mind. Do you care to bet?" Kyoya asks, ignoring Haruhi's questions.

"I don't know," I say with a shrug, and Haruhi nods in agreement.

"Really? It's easy enough to tell at a glance. Honey-Senpai's brand of cute doesn't quite fit Misuzu's notion of refreshing. So I'm afraid he is out. Tamaki comes a little closer to the ideal, provided he keeps his mouth shut. But, we all know the likelihood of that. Than, there's Ryo, but he's out in the town passing out flyers. Ordinarily you'd figure Hikaru and Kaoru. Then again, seems we have a dark horse." We all turn to Mori, who's chopping wood, SHIRTLESS, in the backyard. He's got some pretty nice abs, and slightly sweating at the brow. He wipes away his sweat with the back of his hand, before taking long, nice gulps of water. NOICE and MOIST.

"Mori looks pretty fine... is he relying on that fact?" I ask, and Kyoya shrugs. "Who knows? Besides, if Honey can't stay, Mori'll drop out." Kyoya replies, and the twins walk over, leaning on each other.

"Victory is ours already!" The twins cheer, and Haruhi shrugs.

"Well maybe not. I couldn't help but notice that the only room still available is a single bed. So if you did win, you couldn't both stay." Haruhi remarks, and I mentally applaud her for her trying to get them to stay out of the pension.

"No big deal. We can just bring another bed over from the cottage!" they chorus, and we both sigh.

"Besides, the contest isn't quite decided yet. There's still a number of ways to make this game more interesting."

"This guy's always got something up his sleeve. Does that qualify as refreshing?" Haruhi asks, and I shrug.

"Kyoya might help the boss, since he's never actually done physical work before, I mean, I could have probably fixed that fence already." I reply, remembering the time a cow walked into our fence and I had to fix it before my parents came home.

The twins walk away, something about chilling a watermelon, and Haruhi goes with them to show them how to do it (since they have no actual idea how to 'chill a watermelon properly')

Tamaki walks up to Kyoya and I, sighing dramatically. "I'll lose to those two idiots if this keeps up. Failure is not an option. Akemi's and Haruhi's respect for me is on the line. They have to understand that I'm worthy of being considered part of their top five!"

"Tamaki, chill out," I say, and he looks over at me in shock. "I didn't know you were right there!" He exclaims in shock, and I roll my eyes, baka.

"Listen Tamaki, Haruhi already respects you plenty because you're her senpai. She also respects your good-natured personality, so don't sweat it too much." I say, and he blushes slightly.

"And, what do you think of me?" He asks, and I smirk, holding a finger to my lips. "Spoilers." I reply, and Kyoya smirks.

"Grandiose ambitions aside, I think your approach to winning is a bit skewed. If I may offer some of advice, there is something that only you can pull off. That is, if you choose the right music." Kyoya says, and I nod, getting the idea.

"Yup, if you wanna be one of the accompanists later to one of the piano based songs, you can, it's chill with me." I say, shooting him with a finger gun. "Really?! You're asking me to do a duet with you?" Tamaki asks, looking excited.

"Don't overthink it, Tabasco." I say, and his eyebrow twitches. "What is with your family and getting my name wrong?!" He asks dramatically, and I shrug. Kyoya just watches our conversation with a neutral face.

"Oh, it's getting close to dinner, I gotta head to the kitchens. See y'all tonight!" I say, standing up, and I head to the kitchens to begin the long process of cooking meals with the Hispanic chef, who he and I conversed in Spanish.

" _It's time you start setting up, Akemi, because it's 5:30."_ The chef says in Spanish, pointing at the clock.

" _You're right, gotta blast! See you later!"_ I say, taking the apron off, and my hair out of the hairnet waving a quick goodbye to the chef, before I set out to the backyard. My two braided pig tails were set in two, low braided buns, but I didn't feel like taking them out.

I hang string lights around the white fence, and I set up the portable piano, and old-fashioned microphone that's attached to the cord. Wow, Misuzu is really right about the whole 'refreshing' thing. I start inflating the giant, light pink couch, as I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and look at Ryo, who's smirking at me.

"Hey Ryo, are you done passing out the flyers?" I ask, and he nods. "I honestly finished a while ago, but I brought you something back from town." he says, before handing me a grey, wrapped box.

"Oh, you didn't have to!" I say, and he nods at it. "I insist, open it up." he says cheekily, and I laugh, before unraveling the ribbon, revealing a box of tacos.

"God Bless you!" I say, putting one in my mouth. So friggin' good! I quickly devour one, before putting the lid on the box. I'll save the rest for later...

"Hey, if I may ask," Ryo asks, and I look up at him. He's so tall...it's hard for me to look him in the eyes. "Yep?" I ask, heading to the stairs of the balcony, hoping to put the tacos on the refrigerator. I step up a couple stairs, when Ryo speaks.

"Do you know who Araki Kako is?" He asks, and my heart drops, and I turn around, to see him directly behind me. We're about the same height now, and I see him staring intently into my eyes, and I feel really uncomfortable.

"Kinda, she was Nao's sister, but I never really hung out with her. Why?" I ask, staring into his eyes. Something seemed...off to me. Like I can't see it, yet it's right under my nose. How would he know about Kako? I deleted all traces of her off the internet!

"Really? Well, you should know she was kidnapped by a group of guys, being held for ransom." he says, and I gasp. "What? Does Nao and Dan know?" I ask, and Ryo leans in closer to my face, as I lean back a bit. I stare into his eyes, what is it that's wrong with him obtaining this information! Has he found out? But how!

My gaze drifts to the little mole under his right eye...it seemed oddly black and pops out of his skin too much, unlike a mole would, and it's too dark to be a freckle. Have I really not have noticed any of these details?! Maybe it's because he's one of the tallest people at our school, no one can really look eye-to-eye with him.

"No, but, I know something no one else knows about Nao, and you too, Akemi." he says, and I feel my palms sweat. Think, Akemi, think!

Wait, I got it!

Rubbing my thumb to the palm of my hand, which is sweating like crazy, I look behind Ryo's left shoulder. He turns slightly, and I bring my thumb up to his mole, pressing down on it and swiping down, where the mole pops off his face.

In an instant, Ryo grabs my hand with his, holding it tightly. "Ry-Ryo, what are you doing?" I ask, as a dark, scary look crosses his face. What scared me more than his face?

The mole he had on his face came off. Popped off, so it wasn't even apart of his skin.

I look back into his eyes, and now that I notice, it looks like there's a thin, almost unnoticeable streak of ice blue in his eyes, which is what happens if you have blue eyes and are wearing contac-

"Now, 'Miss Akemi Watanabe,' how about a secret for a secret?" He says, before pulling me down the staircase, sitting my on the couch. I...I'm almost too scared to move. Have...have I been found out? And, where did Ryo's perfect, gentleman attitude disappear to?

"Your mole is fake, and I can see blue streaks in your eyes. You...you aren't really Ryo Makonra, aren't you?" I ask, and he throws his head back, letting out an eerie laughter.

"Oh, Kako, don't you remember that promise I made you, all those years ago?" He asks, and my eyes widen, as he takes his fingers, reaching into his eyes (which is highly unsanitary), and pulls out two contacts.

"No...way... you can't be."

"Oh, yes, yes I am!" He says, barking out a laugh, as he opens the ice blue eyes that chased me from my home.

"You should know, Kako, I chose you. And, I told you I'd never give up, which I clearly didn't do." he says, before leaning in over me, leering over me. I inhale through my nose, don't show fear Kako!

"What do you want...Kei." I say seriously, looking into his eyes. He chuckles darkly, before taking his hand, cupping my cheeks, thumb caressing my face. I involuntarily shudder, as he looks me in the eyes with dark, swirling emotions.

"Is that not obvious, Kako?" he says, leaning over to my ear. "I want you. And I _always_ get what I want." he huskily whispers, words floating to my ear, as his lips lightly touch her ears, sending involuntary shudders down her spine.

Kako, was finally, and utterly...

finished for.

* * *

Did anyone notice the subtle hints that Ryo was Kei? If you did, feel free to PM me them or leave a review.

If you have any questions, I'll answer them in the beginning of every chapter.

Feel free to review, favorite, or follow my story! New options have been added on my poll for who Kako/Akemi/Nao should end up with.


	11. Chapter 11-Short Chapter

HINGA DINGA DURGIN.

Hey guys, so this chapter I wrote like 8000 words, than they all deleted. RIP. So, since I'm writing this at midnight on Saturday/Sunday, it's going to be a mostly-song chapter to hit 2,000+ words. So, the songs in order are-

Cameo Lover Acoustic Version: Kimbra

Wandering Limbs: Kimbra

"Well, than, I think we need to have a talk, heart to heart, eye to eye," Kei says, smirk growing on face as he leans back, plopping on the couch like nothing happened. My heart is racing, and I'm clenching my fist tightly to prevent myself from lashing out at him.

"The thing is, V and R is getting more popular than I expected, so I won't have time for school, so I'll be leaving Ouran after the summer break is over," Kei says, examining his fingernails, "and I want you to come with."

I snort, lightly chuckling. "Yeah right, you knew why I ran away in the first place. I'm not coming back with you because you can take off a fake mole and brown eye contacts." I reply, hoping my voice won't waver. He sighs, "Yeah, I should have figured as much, so I came to this school to keep an eye on you for a bit, and see how well you behaved."

"Behaved?" I ask, confused, and he nods, bright blue eyes meeting mine.

"Like a well trained bitch, if I do say so myself. So, I'll let you stay at Ouran, on a few restrictions I set for you..." He says, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Shoot."

"1, you must remain a boy. 2, you will tell no one about me being Kei. 3, you will not tell anyone about being a girl. 4, you will not run away again. Heck, if you act like a good bitch, I'll let you go to college." he says, smirking lazily.

Wow, that wasn't too bad...

"What happens if I break a rule of yours?" I ask, and the smirk on his face inflates with malice, sending an involuntary shudder.

"I'll make you suffer, by making your friends suffer. How about your friend's family members having their limbs torn off, and sent in pretty boxes to to your friends? How about I make all their loved ones die, so you see them suffering, knowing it's your fault? Than, of course, I'd torture your friends, before I take you back with me. Of course, I'd kill Dan too." He says, and my hear beats crazily.

This man's crazy!

"I'll accept your terms, Kei. But, I have some requests of my own, small ones, really." I say, and he raises a brow.

"You're not in any position to be making requests, but I'll listen anyway." he says, and I try hard to resist smirking.

"After I finish my years at Ouran, I'd like to further pursue careers, meaning I'd have to go to more schools. I'll learn useful skills which can be needed later on..." I say, and he sighs.

"Fine, but you'll attend those schools as a boy." He says, when a ringtone goes off, playing a tropical beat. He pulls out his gold phone, reading a message on the screen, before he stands up.

"Well, I must go now, enjoy your fun while it lasts..." he says with an eerie smirk, before walking out of the backyard, hands in pockets.

...that wasn't...too bad?

Who am I kidding, that was terrifying!

"Akemi! Akemi!" A posh voice says, and I look up and see Tamaki running towards me. Forcing a fake smile at my face, I wave at him.

"Hey Tamaki! What's up?" I ask, and he plops down on the couch next to me, bumping me up a bit. "Well, we're gonna start setting up. Where did Ryo go?" He asks, and I remember Kei's warning.

"He had family business," I say, picking up the guitar I had left near the couch, tuning it. "Oh, too bad he couldn't see us perform..."

"Yeah." I say, and Tamaki sighs, and I look up at him, quirking an eyebrow. "Anything wrong?" I ask/

"Nao hasn't called us all summer break, and I'm worried for him," Tamaki murmurs, puffing up his cheeks as he looks at his shoes, shuffling them slightly. "I miss my son, and I just want to know if he's okay."

"Tamaki, I'm sure Nao is fine, his family isn't too bad, there's just no service on the farm he lives on too. He's probably doing work too..." I mutter, strumming some chords.

"Are you sure you can't tell me about Nao's family?" Tamaki asks, and I look up at him. His face is in a smushed sandwich between his hands, and he's absent-mindedly looking at the ground.

"You should ask Nao after summer break," I say, looking down at my guitar as I strum an easy beat.

"The thing is, I'm worried. Nao is like family to me, and after I lost such an important family member...I just...can't help but be worried..." he trails off, eyes watering, and he rubs them away with the back of his hand. "I used to live in France, with my mother. I was a mistress's child, and, the only heir to the Suoh family. So, my grandmother had me come over to live in Japan, so my mother could be taken care because of this illness she got. So, the deal was that I came over and trained to be the heir, while my mother could stay alive, but I could never see her. I accepted the deal, and here I am today. That's why I care for the Host Club, Nao and you. I want to be part of your lives, to congratulate your accomplishments, be there to pick you up if you fall, make you smile..."

I sigh, before rubbing his back with the palm of my hand, trying to be soothing. I never knew that Tamaki had such an emotional barricade, he always seemed so...happy. That's why he has the family concept. "Well... Nao really cares for all of you, but friends mean more than family to him, but he can see how you try. Nao's under constant stress. His family always wanted him to be the heir to their small, family farm, give birth to strong children, who would one day run the farm. But, Nao didn't want that, and he broke free, and I really respect that..." I respond, trailing off.

"Come on, Akemi and Tamaki!" Hikaru calls from the staircase, waving at us. "We need to finish setting up!" Kaoru finishes, and Tamaki stands up. "Be right there!" he calls out, before turning to me, offering me his hand. I take it softly, and he pulls me up from where I was sitting.

* * *

We all finish setting up, with Mori and Honey on lighting, Kyoya on setting up the microphones and sound systems, Hittatwins on setting up chairs, tables and picnic blankets, Haruhi, Tamaki and I setting up instruments.

"Well, it looks good," I say, looking from the patio as customers started walking in, rolling out a picnic blanket, holding a basket with the pension's name on it. We sold tickets at the front, while making a picnic-basket for two. As Misuzu claims "It's refreshing to listen to chill music with chill food!"

Soon enough, we sold out, and I walked up in front of the inflatable couch, and picked up the old fashioned microphone.

"Hello everyone, I'm Akemi, and happy Friday! I hope you enjoy this session," I say, as there was some applause, before I put the microphone in it's little slot thing, as I sit on the couch. I pick up the electric-acoustic guitar, and I inhale.

"This song is for my friend Teriyaki, to turn from black skies." I say, as my eyes meet his on the balcony, before I start strumming the chords.

 _"This is nonstop baby_  
 _You've got me going crazy_  
 _You're heavier than I knew_  
 _But I don't want no other_  
 _You're my cameo lover_  
 _Only here for a moment or two,"_ I sing, strumming the chords, as some people begin to tap their feet to the beat. Truthfully, I didn't think of Tamaki as my lover.  
 _"You stay inside that bubble_  
 _With all of your trouble_  
 _In your black hole_  
 _You turn from the skies_  
 _You dance with your demise_  
 _I'll be here when you come home, home"_

 _"We've all gotta break down_  
 _Let me come and break down, there with you!"_ I strum the the chords a bit harder, as I change the beat.

 _"Cause everyday's like talking in your sleep!_  
 _Love is like a silhouette in dreams!_  
 _Open up your heart! Open up your heart!_  
 _Open up your heart and let me pull you out_  
 _Everyday's like talking in your sleep!_  
 _Love is like a silhouette in dreams!_  
 _Open up your heart! Open up your heart!_  
 _Open up your heart and let me pull you out of here..._ 1 2 3 4!" I sing, before saying the numbers.

 _"I've got high hopes baby_  
 _But all you do is take me down to depths that I never knew,"_ I think of how as Nao, Tamaki always made me do ridiculous stuff for the club, than how he judged me for the beach incident. Than, as Akemi, how I dressed up as a goddess, and he fleed from the room. I look up to where he's standing on the balcony, and his eyes meet mine, as his face flushes.  
 _"You've got two arms baby_  
 _They're all tangled in ladies of the black skies posing blue,"_ because god damn, he's always with women! Even men!  
 _"Let go of your mother_  
 _And turn to your brothers!"_ I sing, talking about the Host Club.  
 _"Not a long gone lover's noose_  
 _Sometimes baby the hardest part of breaking_  
 _Is leaving pieces behind you  
_ _Oh we've all gotta get by  
_ _Let me come and hold you high, with you!"_

 _"Open up your heart to me!_  
 _The sun won't shine if you're not looking_  
 _Baby love is all that you need!"_ I sing out, going an octave higher, and someone wolf whistles in the crowd.

 _"When everyday's like talking in your sleep!_  
 _Love is like a silhouette in dreams!_  
 _Open up your heart! Open, open, open...  
_ _Everyday's like talking in your sleep!  
_ _Love is like a silhouette in dreams!  
_ _Open up your heart! Open up your heart!  
_ _Open up your heart and let me pull you out.  
_ _Bom bom bom bom-bom!"_ I sing softer, as I finish the song, and am met with a bunch of applause. I give a quick smile, before I nod my head.

"Hey Akemi, don't tell me you forgot about lil' ole me!" Tamaki says from the crowd, as he walks towards me, and I roll my eyes.

"Of course, Teriyaki, come down." I say, and he sits behind the keyboard. I can see hearts appear in some girls' eyes, and I mentally roll my eyes. Not everyone's immune to his charms...

"Well, I'm Tamaki, but Akemi here refers to me as Teriyaki for some reason..." Tamaki says into his microphone, winking, and a girl falls over. Really now?

"Well, let's go!" I say, as he starts playing the piano chords.

 _I'm gonna dangle my feet over the wire_  
 _Despite your despair, I'm going over to the other side_  
 _There's a break in the clouds where the crimson connects_  
 _Anticipate my demise, the world's different from up here,"_ I sing, changing my voice to an alto-state as I strum the chords, sending shivers down the Host Club's spines. Who knew she could sing like this?

 _"Am I caught in the background, a part of the scene?"_ Tamaki sings, he has an oddly nice voice, a high one at that, who knew?  
 _"Misery in the come down, when I come down from here"_ I sing back, looking up at him, as he smiles back at me.  
 _"Are we tangled in each other, or placed in between?_ Tamaki sings, running his fingers over the keys with ease.  
 _"Like a stone, or a stones throw away from falling..." I sing._

 _"Am I just scant in the landscape,_  
 _Or a range close to you?"_ Tamaki sing-asks, and I sing _"Oooooooohhhh..."_ in the background.  
 _"I think I fell into a strange play with wandering limbs,"_ Tamaki sings, and I look up at the Host Club, and in Haruhi's eye, something flickers. What is it?  
 _"And eager hands"_ we harmonize, and chills run down my back. That sounded good _,_ and I start strumming my guitar a bit louder.

 _"Now the sun's gone today, I can lust towards space_  
 _Now transcend into blues,"_ I sing, looking up at the starry sky. The sunset that once brightened the sky was replaced with dark blue hues, highlighted by little bulbs of light in the sky. _  
_ _"fade out from the ground breaks,"_ we harmonize. Tight af sounding! _  
_ _"I feel so beautiful, cut me off from the crowd,  
_ _I got the birds eye view."_ I finish, as Tamaki echoes _"Bird's eye view! Now we're all just thoughts in a sky."_

 _"Am I caught in the background, a part of the scene?"_ I sing, feeling the words rushed over me.  
 _"Misery in the calm-down-"_ Tamaki starts.  
 _"when I come down from here."_ I follow Tamaki, strumming the guitar softer now.

 _"Are we tangled in each other, or placed in between?"_ me _._  
 _"Like a stone, or a stones throw away from far!"_ Tamaki _._

 _"Am I just scant in the last day_  
 _Or a range close to you?_  
 _I think I fell, I think I fell into a strange play with wandering limbs_  
 _And eager hands,"_ we finally harmonize, as we finish the song. Loud applause reaches us, some whistling, and I stand up with Tamaki, as he bows to the crowd, before turning towards me, smiling brightly. "How exhilarating!" He says, a bright smile on face. "I loved it!"

"That's great!" I say with a laugh, ruffling his hair. He smiles, waves at the crowd one more time, before he walks back to the piano.

I look towards where the Host Club is standing, and I see Kyoya leaning against a pillar, trying to look cool, as he's on the phone.

* * *

Well, thanks for reading this really, really short chapter! To make it up, here's a preview of my next book, where I do a countdown with a new chapter every day!

All I could think about is if this is how I go? By the dingy car after I payed so much for shopping? When I avoided assassination attempts yearly? And all I can say as my final words were-

"Ayy, I'm walkin' here-mmpf!" I say, with a New York accent, as my body thumped against the car's top, flopping against the glass. I closed my eyes, as I feel as if I'm being thrown around in a laundry machine, before I'm tossed in the air, lying on the hard concrete. Warm, thick liquid surrounds my head, as my fingers twitch. At least I'm still holding on to my bags, even in death I ain't letting go of the 5 for $30 dollar bras I got from Victoria's Secret.

I hear the clicking of feet coming towards me, and someone bending down, and I see red, long locks of hair.

"Hmmm, it says here you weren't supposed to die today..." he says, and I lightly laugh, blood coming out of my mouth.

 _Am I the only one who can see him? He seems awfully calm for just seeing a hit and run._

"Oh you're right! Some humans aren't idiotic," he mutters. "Well, I think I'll need to check your film reel quickl- I can't access it."

"Bitch I ain't Steven Spielberg." I sputter, coughing up more blood as I talk hoarsely.

"Well, you're coming to HQ," he says, snapping his fingers, and suddenly he and I are in a library.

"Stand up, you aren't dead yet," he says, offering me his hand, which I accept as I stand up, feeling light as air. "Wait, this looks familiar, I think I've seen this befor-" I say, without a hoarse voice, as I look at the guy who offered me a hand. My jaw slightly opens, but I close it.

"Yo-you're..." I stutter, and he grins at me with sharp teeth. "What? Fabulous? The devil?" He asks, with a sassy wink, adjusting his librarian glasses

* * *

Well, thanks for reading it! Here's a couple hints about Ryo and Kei being the same.

Mulan-Ryo/Kei was leader of Vines and Roses in the dream.

Greek gods/goddess-Ryo was Ares, Greek god of war.


	12. Chapter 12: Vines and Roses-OH SHI

The chapters will be a teensy bit shorter, from 1,000-9,000 words usually.

* * *

"Akemi, wake up!" Haruhi says, whacking me with her bed's pillow.

"~Whaaaat..." I groan, putting my own pillow over my head, using it as protection.

"I'm going on a date."

"Whaaaaaat?!" I ask, sitting up abruptly from my bed. Yesterday, I spent my day in the town, shopping for groceries for the pension. I heard that Hikaru got a bit iffy with a guy from Haruhi's old school, but I didn't know he'd ask her on a date!

"Yeah, with Kaoru."

"Ugh~ OTP ruined!" I say, flopping back on to my bed. Truthfully, I shipped Haruhi with everyone.

"Hey now, get up! The twins' maids are coming in in 15 minutes, and you need to get ready!" She says, pulling me out of the bed, as I land on the ground with a _THUMP._

 _"I am ready..."_ I groan, looking up at Haruhi, seeing her blurry blob cross her blurry arms. "Really, now, where's your wig, contacts, and makeup?"

"Well, you got me there," I say, standing up.

"Since you're going on a date, you can borrow my sticky boobs! They'll make yo' tatas look hUGE!" I say, putting my hands in front of my chest, exaggerating the size to the ones of watermelons, and Haruhi laughs.

"Yeah right! I'm fine the way I am!" She says, playfully glaring at me, as I roll my eyes.

"Just wait until Kaoru comes crawling to me because I had boo-"

"Akemi!"

"Be out soon!" I call out as I start laughing, rushing to the bathroom, clicking the door locked, as I get ready.

* * *

"Have fun, Haruhi!" I say, giving her a hug, as she and Hikaru walk into town. Turns out, Kaoru is sick, so Hikaru is taking his place. But, Haruhi looks so cute! She's wearing a pale blue sundress with pink straps, and her hair is in extensions so she's wearing pig tails.

"Are they gone yet?" A voice asks from the bushes, and I turn around, and see Kaoru's head poking out of the bushes.

"Wha-? Did you pretend to be sick to get those two kiddos to go on a date?" I ask, as he fully stands up in the bush, smirking mischievously. "Guilty as charged."

"Whaaa?! You sent my precious daughter on a date?! With THAT shady twin?" Tamaki asks, placing his hand on his heart. I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Tamaki, Haruhi'll be fine." Kyoya reassures Tamaki, as Tamaki looks up at Kyoya with puppy-dog eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, we'll disguise as townspeople! Into the pension, where the costumes await us!" Kaoru says, as all the men rush into the pension. I roll my eyes, these boys were the worst at disguising, while I'm GOAT at it. I'm the OG. These boys can train for all of their lives, but they'll never beat me in disguising...not only am I Akemi, but Nao as well! Ha ha!

I calmly walk in, when Kaoru shoves a black wig in my face. "Wear this! Your purpl-ue hair stands out too much!"

"Mmmm...no thanks." I say, swatting the wig away.

"Come on, Akemiiiiiiiii~!" Honey says, bouncing up to me. "We wanna see you with your old hair color!"

Tamaki pulls out a huge portrait of my face with the black hair that read 'Akemi Watanabe,' under it, and my eye twitches. "Why do you have my ID picture?" I ask, and Tamaki looks away sheepishly.

"We were curious to see what you looked like before your current hair," Kyoya says, matter-of-factly, and Mori nods in agreement. I roll my eyes, putting my hair into a high bun.

"I'll just take this baseball cap," I say, grabbing a blue baseball cap, and plopping it on my head. "And BAM-you can't see my hair." The boys all sweat drop, as I grab a white-tank top, gray sweatpants, and black converse.

"We have so many cute clothes though, why wear such common ones?" Tamaki asks, and I scoff. "I always dress fabulously, for your information. I won't stand out like this." I walk to the bathroom with my clothes, slamming the door close.

* * *

"Kaoru, you're making my daughter go on her first date!" Tamaki complains, as I roll my eyes, pushing up my round, shaded glasses. Tamaki's such a dork, he made only me dress up in a disguise!

"I know, Boss... It's hard for you to understand, but it would be good for Hikaru to find other people he can feel close to. The only people we've ever been able to depend on are ourselves. We didn't care what anyone else thought about us. That's probably how we ended up so self-centered." Kaoru laments, looking at Haruhi and Hikaru as they walk down the street.

"So you're admitting it?" Tamaki asks softly, and Kaoru gently nods.

"I guess you could say Hikaru is immature and lets his emotions take over. See, I'm not sure he's even aware of it, but I can tell that he cares about Haruhi. He just doesn't know how to react, so his emotions run wild. He's selfish and wants all of her attention." Kaoru admits, as we trail behind them. "He wants to be acknowledged by her but doesn't know how to make that happen. If you want true friends, friends who aren't only your toys, you have to learn to respect them. That's the only way you can have a meaningful relationship. And I think it's about time that Hikaru learned that lesson himself."

"Well spoken, Kaoru," I say, reflecting back to the time where my brother and I wanted to do everything together, than we learned that we can see each other all the time at home, so we split.

Kyoya pushes up his glasses, as the sun reflects them, "So in other words, this date is basically a test to see if Hikaru can handle being thoughtful to one's others, right?"

Kaoru nods, as I look at the shops. I saw a really cool one the other day... "Just promise me you won't interfere with them, okay?"

"Ooh, there it is!" I say, stopping in front of the shop I saw yesterday while shopping for groceries.

"Akemi, what are you doing?" Mori asks, as I entered the shop, as the smell of coffee infiltrated my nose.

"Oh, it's so nice in here!" I whisper-shout, looking at the small cafe. It's probably about the size of 2 of my apartments, and has little chairs with overstuffed cushions, wall outlets, and a pastry case. The color theme is dark, brown wood, with mint green and pastel pink, which reminds me of Wanda and Cosmo.

"May I help you?" A small, mousy elderly woman asks, with large, bug-like blue eyes hiding behind circular black rim glasses.

"Can I please have...a nutella-stuffed red velvet cookie, and a water?" I ask, and she nods. "That'll be 800 yen," she says, and I pass her the cash, as she gives me the cookie and water. Ah, it smelt soooo good!

"Akemi, what are you doing?" Mori asks with a deep voice, stepping inside the coffee shop.

"Oh, I'm getting a cookie and water, do you want anything?" I ask, and he looks up at the menu.

"I'll have a pumpkin bread." he says, looking at the woman, who seems to swoon.

"Have it on the house, hot stuff~!" She squeals, blushing. Good gracious, even here?!

"Let's eat," I say, sitting down on one of the chairs, as Mori follows suit.

"So, how do you like Karuizawa?" I ask, and he nods. "It's good. You?"

"Same..." I say, trailing off as I take a bite into the cookie. Nutella comes out, filling my mouth with the taste of red-velvet cookie, and rich, melted Nutella. So... good!

I look at Mori, and he takes a napkin, dabbing it on my face lightly, as a blush lightly scatters my cheeks. "Uh, Mori, what are you doing?"

"Nutella was on your lips," he says.

"Next time kiss it off her lips, baka!" The old woman says from behind the counter, and Mori and my face flush red.

"Maybe next time I will," Mori mutters quietly, not loud enough for Akemi to hear.

We quickly finished, before leaving the cafe.

"God, that was...good food," I say, laughing slightly, as I look up at the sky, flipping my shades over my eyes. It's sunny outside, but with a few clouds.

"Yeah," Mori agrees, before he reaches down, and picks up my hand. His hand is like, 2x larger than mine. Baby hands...

"Mori? Why are you holding my hand?" I ask, as he leads me across the street.

"I want to show you something," he says quietly, as he leads me to another shop, that sells blown glass, as he shows me this 'really cool looking jellyfish' he saw.

For the rest of the day, we show each other things we thought were cool to each other. It was mostly silent, but it was a comfortable silence, it was quite _refreshing._

Before I knew it, we were back at the pension, and it started drizzling. Haruhi must be back already, so I don't need to worry...

Stepping inside the pension, I see the Hita-twins, Tamaki, Honey and Kyoya, with Mori by my side.

"I had a great time today, but, where's Haruhi?" I ask, looking at them. Hikaru crosses his arms, and looks away.

"Hikaru, where's Haruhi?" Tamaki asks.

"She was flirting with Arai, saying she wanted to go back with him instead of hailing a cab, so I ditched her." Hikaru says, and my jaw drops.

"Baka!" I shout, running up the stairs, and to my room. I quickly put on my poncho and rain boots, grabbing my spare purse that has a medical kit inside it with my phone, along with a flashlight.

I flop down the stairs, to see Tamaki on the phone.

"You say Haruhi went off, Arai?" He asks, and I pale.

"I'm going!" I shout, as I burst out the door.

Rain is pouring now, and I squint, keeping my eyes barely open. The contacts in my eyes feel really uncomfortable, but I need to find Haruhi!

"What are you doing, Akemi?" Hikaru asks, opening the door as he shouts over the sound of the rain. "We'll send a limo for Haruhi!" I turn around to look at him, a pissed look coming on my face.

"You idiot! What kind of jerk would leave a person out in a thunderstorm like this by themself?! Now you listen to me, Haruhi is terrified of thunder! Whenever she hears it, she gets so scared she can't even move! She's paralyzed by the sound of it, but noooo, you didn't notice the signs that she didn't like the rain. Why don't you spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once?! Haruhi cares for everyone, and notices every little thing, but you need to spend some energy getting to know her!" I scream, before turning around, water pelting my face.

Hikaru groans, "What do you mean?! How the hell was I supposed to know if she never told me?"

I raise my middle finger in response, as I walk out of the pension's yard.

I run through the town, and asked every single person there if they saw a girl with brown pig tails, wearing a light blue dress with pink straps. Someone told me they saw her run off into the woods, and I immediately turned in that direction.

I rush into the woods, following the only path there, which leads to an old, abandoned church, with the door slightly ajar.

"Haruhi!" I shout, entering the church. "Haruhi, are you here?!" I say, as my boots squish against the wooden floor boards, making an annoying sound. I look at the pews, hoping to see her, but no sign.

My eyes really feel dry... I put my fingers in my eyes, taking out the blue contacts. I put them in my bag, and put on the extra glasses I have in my bag, which have big, black circular rims. I look like Harry Potter, but who cares. I take off my poncho, and it drifted to the ground, when a creak rips from where the altar is; and I raise an eyebrow as I walk up a couple steps, and lift the cloth of the altar, revealing a scared Haruhi, who's hugging her knees, eyes clenched shut.

"Oh Haruhi," I say, bending down on my knees, scooching over to her.

"H-hi Akemi," she says quietly with ragged breathing patterns, as I rub her back, pulling her close to me.

"Shhhh, it's alright..." I say, rubbing circles, as her breathing calms.

"H-Hikaru left me," she sobs quietly, "alone. I've dealt-t with this alone b-b-before, but-"

"Hikaru was really concerned, he never knew you'd be afraid of thunder. He's just very dense, and he's searching for you," I say, reaching into my bag with my phone, texting my address to Tamaki.

Haruhi choked out a laugh, "Yeah, he's pr-pretty dense."

" _Let's go in the garden_  
 _You'll find something waiting_  
 _Right there where you left it_  
 _Lying upside down_  
 _When you finally find it_  
 _You'll see how it's faded_  
 _The underside is lighter"_ I sing, recalling the lullaby from when I was a child. Haruhi's eyes close, as she listens to my voice.

 _"When you turn it around_  
 _Everything stays_  
 _Right where you left it,"_ Haruhi's breathing slows, and she finds herself on the brink of falling asleep, as Akemi's soothing voice drowned out the thunder and rain that raged outside.  
 _Everything stays_  
 _But it still changes ever so slightly_  
 _Daily and nightly_  
 _In little ways_  
 _When everything stays."_ Haruhi's breathing had slowed down, and she fell asleep. I smiled slightly, as I adjusted her so she was laying in my lap, as I removed her hair extensions, discarding them to the side.

I pull out my phone, to see Tamaki saying the limo was almost here. I told him to be silent when he entered, for Haruhi was sleeping.

My phone vibrated against my thigh, as Tamaki said he had arrived. I stood up, and squatted down, picking Haruhi up bridal-style, as her light frame felt like a feather in my arms. Her head slumped up against my shoulder, and I lightly smiled. She looks so cute when she's sleeping...

Quietly, I walk to the door of the church, peering through it to see the limo about five steps away, with Tamaki holding the door open to the limo, a concerned look plastered on his face.

Quickly running into the limo, I set Haruhi down on the chair, as she continues to sleep. How is she such a heavy sleeper?!

"Akemi, you wear glasses?" Kyoya asks, as I look towards him, who's holding up his phone towards my face. Is he...taking photos of me? "Yeah, I do." I reply, looking at all the Host Club members in the car.

"But aren't your eyes usually blue? How are they suddenly green?" Honey asks, confused. I nervously laugh, and scratch the back of my neck.

"I resembled Nao too much, so I dyed my hair and put in contacts...he he..." I admit, and Kyoya smirks, crossing his arms.

"Well, I just did a data analysis, and your eye matches up perfectly with Nao's. Care to explain?" Kyoya asks, and my heart drops in my chest.

Oh fuck.


	13. Chapter 13: Vines and Roses

Hey guys! There's a part of the fanfiction where it would be really great if you played the song "The Call" by Regina Spektor. Trust me-it'll make the fanfic GR8

* * *

"Wha-what?" I ask, as the Host Club's jaws drop, looking frantically between Kyoya and I.

"I repeat, your iris scan matches up with the one of Nao's." He says, matter-of-factly, and my heart thuds rapidly, as he shows me the phone screen. On the screen is a picture of my eye, compared to 'Nao's' eye. It had an exact match.

No...no...they can't know! Or else, they'll be in danger! I don't want to lose them, or for them to lose those close to them...

I snort out a laugh, thinking of a Scooby Doo meme I saw. "Yeah right, that's just a stupid app that's for free on the app store. How accurate can it be?" I say, and everyone laughs with me, save for Kyoya.

"Yeah, Kyoya, iPhones aren't exactly government technology," Hikaru says with a laugh. "Kyoya, we know that Nao and Akemi are cousins, so they'll obviously have some similarities." Kaoru finishes, but Kyoya smirks, crossing his legs, as he taps something on his phone, before the television in the limo flickers on, and a grainy security footage comes up.

"Watch, and than Akemi will give a thorough explanation," Kyoya says, as my eyes flicker to the door next to me. It's unlocked.

Kyoya presses play, and the video starts. It looks like the security camera that my building has on every floor...

Shit.

My heart pounds, as I watch a video of Nao in his Ouran uniform step into his apartment, and Kyoya fast forwards the film, to about an hour later, when me-dressed-as-Akemi steps out, locking the door behind me.

"Is this enough evidence?" Kyoya asks with a smirk, looking at me, as the Host Club's jaws drop, eyes widening.

Nao was...a drag queen?! Wait, Akemi is a boy?!

"I visit Nao sometimes, duh." I explain, and Kyoya raises an eyebrow.

"Really, now?" He asks, looking down at his phone, fast forwarding it to 12:00 at night, when a grainy Akemi steps in front of her door.

"Ahhh, fragggggin' drunkies in the bar, hittin' up me!" The Akemi on the screen groans, ripping off her wig, revealing a bald cap. "This damn wig is making me sweat like freaking crazy! Why can't I just get a weave?"

The Host Club sweat drops, looking at Akemi, who's sweating like crazy, as Haruhi peacefully sleeping.

"It's hard to dye brown hair without bleaching..." I mumble, looking away from the video screen. I remember that night.

"Really now?" Kyoya asks, looking back at the screen.

The video's me trips over their own feet, ramming their face into the door. "Ah, fugging McFugnuggets!" Video me swears, rubbing their forehead, as they fumble for their keys in their black purse. "I have a test tomorrow in Math, and I don't need a concussion that'll make me forget the formulas from today's lesson!"

The video cuts off, leaving everyone shocked, as they slowly turn towards me, jaws dropped.

"YOU'RE NA-" Tamaki starts

"I'm a narwhal, yes!" I say, grabbing the door's handle, thrusting it open as I jump out of the car, rolling down the wet, grassy hill. It's raining still, but it's more like a mist so I'm fine, but the wet grass is so itchy!

Pushing my wig on top of my head with one hand, holding on to my glasses with the other, I realize I left my purse in the limo. Great!

"Akemi!" A voice rings out, and I look up at the hill I just rolled down, to see everyone standing there, with flashlights roaming over the ground. Haruhi isn't there...she must still be sleeping.

"Akemi!" Mori's baritone voice rings out, startling everyone.

"Akemi, please come out. My private police force will be here soon to search the area!" Kyoya says, a hint of worry lacing his tone. He hadn't meant for Akemi, or, well, Nao, to bolt like that, he had just wanted to show Nao he was the smartest one in the club.

It was evident now that Nao was the smartest one.

"Ake-chama! Please~~ come out!" Honey wails.

"Yeah, Akemi! We want you back!" The twins call, and I sigh, before I walk into the woods before me, looking at one of the giant trees. There's a saying that one shouldn't be near trees during a storm, but the mist has stopped falling.

I quickly climb the tree, hopping up to the tallest, sturdiest branch, where I have a clear view of the sky, as I look up at it, tears beginning to pour down my cheeks. I rip my wig off my head, clenching it in between my fingers, which grow pale as I hold the wig firmly, making my hands shake.

Wiping my tears away, I continue to taking off my wig cap, and I sigh, leaning me head against the branch.

I just...don't want to be hurt anymore. No more scars, no more emotional problems. No more running from my family members. No more sacrifices of the people I love, and my future.

Just...no more. I could roll off this branch and fall to the ground, snapping my neck and ending it all.

But, that means running away from my problems agai-

Ha ha! I'm literally on this branch because I ran from my problems!

"He, he..." I chuckle dryly, pulling my knees to my chest, as tears streak down my face. The wig is smushed between my thighs and chest, sinking in.

-start the song

 _"It started out as a_ _feeling_  
 _Which then grew into a hope,"_ I sing quietly, thinking about how I wanted to attend high school, away. Away-starting my own life, and being my own person. Being able to...to have my own future!  
 _"Which then turned into a quiet thought_  
 _Which then turned into a quiet word_  
 _And then that word grew louder and louder_  
 _'Til it was a battle cry!"_ Telling my parents how I wanted to do something:than they denied me. Than, my battle cry was how _I chose my future._  
 _"I'll come back when you call me_  
 _No need to say goodbye..."_ To everyone who helped me. Maaya, Dan...

Kei, Mom, and Dad...

 _"Just because everything's changing_  
 _Doesn't mean it's never been this way before,"_ Kei telling me how I belonged to him, and he'll come back for me. Hasn't he always owned me, and haven't I already been able to keep my secret (well, at least until nosy Kyoya barged in)?  
 _"All you can do is try to know who your friends are_  
 _As you head off to the war..."_ The Host Club, Miyako, Ritsu, Dan...

I cared for all of them! I love them, and I want them to stay safe, but that means...that means...  
 _"Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light,"_ I sing, as more tears prick my eyes, voice wavering...  
 _"You'll come back when it's over_  
 _No need to say goodbye_  
 _You'll come back when it's over_  
 _No need to say goodbye..."_ I sing, barely keeping my voice above a whisper as I tremble, shaking as tears run down my face.

 _"Now we're back to the beginning_  
 _It's just a feeling and no one knows yet_  
 _But just because they can't feel it too_  
 _Doesn't mean that you have to forget..."_ Back at the beginning, where I might have to start over. Start over...such a strange, yet familiar word.  
 _"Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_  
 _'Til they're before your eyes_  
 _You'll come back when they call you..."_ I'll know what to do again, based off my past experiences, as I rub my eyes with the back of my hand.  
 _"No need to say goodbye_  
 _You'll come back when they call you_  
 _No need to say goodbye"_ I tremble, before I burst into full out sobs.

 _I won't come back when they call me, or else they might suffer._

 _And, I don't want anyone else to suffer at my hands!_

 _I'll take their burden, and add it to my own. I can handle this!_

"Akemi!" Honey's voice rings out, full of worry. I quiet my crying, as tears slowly flow down. I look down the tree, to see the Host Club, minus Haruhi, taking their flashlights, shining them all over.

"Kyoya, this is your fault!" Hikaru starts.

"Yeah, Kyoya, if it wasn't for you, Akemi wouldn't have ran off!" Kaoru finishes. Kyoya just sighs, looking down at his feet.

"I...just wanted to know about Akemi and Nao...they never talk about themselves. Isn't it strange? We've never seen Akemi and Nao in the same room." He says quietly, as the Host Club's eyes widen, as they realize the truth.

"So...you're saying... I had a crush on a guy?!" Tamaki starts, before his jaw drops. "Nao is a drag queen?!" Tamaki, Honey, and the twins ask in shock, and Kyoya face palms. Ugly images of a hot Akemi tucking came into their minds, and they nearly barfed.

"Idiots, Nao is a girl. Akemi is Nao, and Nao is Akemi." Kyoya explains, and I quietly hiccup, before slapping my hand over my mouth. No one's noticed, I think...

I really hoped no one would know. Does this mean I have to go?

"Wait, so does this mean we're not gay?!" The twins ask, confused, and I nearly face palm. They have a gay act-!

Wait. Tamaki saying he had a crush on a guy...the twins saying they're not gay...

Did they...like me?

"So, Akemi is younger than all of us, right? She's supposed to be a first year, like Nao?" Honey asks, and Kyoya shifts his glasses.

"I suppose so. It's best we ask the person themselves though," he says, before looking up to the branch I was sitting on.

"Isn't that right, Akemi?" He asks, and I hiccup. He heard me!

 _"Whaaaat? I don't speak Japanese, I'm from...uh, Canada."_ I say in Spanish, laughing nervously, as I wipe my tears away.

"Akemi, please get down here, we want to talk to you like a family and know what's going on! We're concerned for you!" Tamaki calls out, looking at Mori, as he nods.

"Akemi, I'll come get you." Mori says, standing at the base of the tree.

"N-no, stay there! I'm fine here!" I say, as Mori sighs.

"Akemi, I'm coming up." He says, before he starts climbing the tree with his giant bear-arms.

"N-no! Stay away!" I say, standing up on the branch, as the wig falls down to the ground below me, but I ignore it, as I climb higher and higher.

"Akemi! Stop, you'll hurt yourself!" Kyoya shouts out with concern, but that's the least of my worries. I need...I need them to stay away from me.

"Go away!" I shout, hiding in the leaves at the top of the tree, holding onto the base of the tree, as tears run down my face.

"We're here for you, Akemi! Please, let us help you!" Honey calls out, and I shake my head, even if they couldn't see it.

"No, you can't help me with this! The only thing that would help me is if you stay far, far away from me!" I cry out, tears running down my face.

I...don't want them to stay away from me! I want them, I've relied on the Host Club more than I have anyone else, but I want to protect them! Because they're like my family to me, and I want to protect my family like they've protected me!

"Akemi..." Mori says, standing on the branch next to me. "W-what do yo-you wa* _hic_ * what do you want Mori?" I ask, rubbing the back of my eyes again. God, my makeup must be smeared by now.

"Please, come back down. We don't want you to get hurt." He says, offering his hand to me, but I swat it away.

"I'll get hurt if you guys keep doing this, please, I don't want anyone's help!" I say, holding onto the tree's base, as I hear a slight _crack._

Mori's eyes widen, "Akemi, you'll fall. Please, come with me."

I smile hauntingly, as I look Mori in the eyes. "I've already fallen so far, there's no more depths I can fall into. Besides, even if there is, how hard will it be?" I ask, as the branch does it's final crack, and I close my eyes, preparing for the fall, when two arms wrap around my waist, pulling me off the final branch.

I feel the whoosh of air around me, as Mori jumps off the tree onto the ground, and I open my eyes to see Mori holding me tightly on the ground, as the smile falls off my face.

"Mori, let me go!" I cry, as he looks at me.

"I'm...sorry, Akemi." He says, looking away.

"But we're taking you back to Kyoya's cottage with Haruhi, you guys have been given the weekend off. Isn't that great?" Tamaki says cheerfully, doing jazz hands with a smile, but with the looks everyone gives him, he puts the jazz hands away.

Looking at Mori, tears well in my eyes. "Mori, please, please put me down! Why didn't you let me fall?!" I ask, putting my hands on his chest, trying to pry myself off him, but no use. His arms are like steel.

"Akemi...why did you say that? Did you...want to die?" Honey asks, sadness evident in his voice.

"It...it would have been better if I was dead! I'd be able to protect you guys with my death!" I cry out, burying my head in my hands, sobbing.

"Akemi..." the twins mutter, and I hiccup.

"Pl-please, leave me alone! You guys, I care for all of you so much! Please, let me do this for you!" I cry out, as all of their eyes girl before them, with the eyes that they adored had now been dipped with tears, with the medium length hair hair put into a ponytail now hanging limply around her face, with red cheeks and puckered pink lips.

No doubt, this was Nao.

"We care for you, we're trying to help you, Akemi..." Tamaki says as he steps closer, and I shake my head.

"No...no! You're not helping me, you're only making it worse. You guys are like my family, please, let me help you!" I say, as Tamaki freezes in his tracks.

This is...the first time Nao has said he cares for them like family.

"Mori..." Kyoya says, as Mori nods.

"Wh-what's goin' o-?" I ask, as I feel a prick in my neck. I turn to see Kyoya with a needle, and a frown crosses my face.

Thiopental-used to make a person about to undergo surgery fall asleep, or to relax them.

"I'm sorry, Akemi..." he says, a sad look crossing his face, as the edges of my vision dim.

"I'll...I'll hate you all to make you leave me alone..." I murmur, going limp in Mori's arms, and the last thing I see is Kyoya's shocked eyes at my words.

* * *

"Ugh..." I groggily state, as I shift in the soft, satin sheets...

Wait, satin?!

Opening my blurry eyes, I see myself in a large, dark green room with wooden furniture, a desk, and a wardrobe. I look over, and see the outline of a dresser with my glasses on them, as I shove them onto my face hastily, making the world in focus once more. Looking down at myself, I see I'm wearing the same clothes from yesterday...

Yesterday? Oh god, me climbing up the tree, them finding out...

No, I can still work this. I'll still be Akemi and Nao, and no one will get hurt.

Standing up from the bed, I pad over to the large wooden door, slowly opening it to see the staircases. Bingo!

I, like the cool ninja I am, walk down the stairs carefully, as to not make any sounds. Success! Next, the big wooden door must be the exit out!

I walk to the door, hand on knob when-

"What are you doing Akemi?" Tamaki asks, and I sigh, turning towards the Host Club and Haruhi, all wearing casual clothes.

"I'm...going pee?" I ask, as Kyoya facepalms. "We need to talk, we know you're Nao. So, explain." He says, and I arch a brow.

"Me? That stinky, puberty filled boy? Hon', I'm not a drag queen, and I definitely don't tuck." I say, as they all pale, and Haruhi laughs, before winking at me.

She...didn't tell, I could tell that from her facial expression. Bless her heart!

"Nao and Akemi are cousins, you bakas. Akemi said she looked extremely similar to Nao, too," Haruhi says, and Kyoya pushes up his glasses. "We already know that information, but that doesn't explain why they have the same exact eyes."

"Boy, you are using an iPhone 6-"

"iPhone 7, actually," Kyoya says, holding up the phone, as my eyebrow twitched. "Doesn't that come out in a week?" I ask, and he smirked. "Actually, my family is one of the original stock investors in Apple, so we get some...perks." Kyoya explains, and I sigh.

"Whatever, besides, Apple hasn't come up with an iris scanner yet, so this app you're using is probably very inaccurate," I say, walking forward, and taking a picture of Haruhi's eye.

"Now, let me compare this to my eye and..." I say, uploading the file of my eye. The app loads, before dinging.

"100% match!" It chimes, and Kyoya sweat drops. "I see, my data is...inaccurate. Forgive my rudeness, but, why exactly did you roll out of the limo, than?" He asks.

Think of an excuse quickly, Kako!

"No, don't even bother making an excuse anymore, Akemi, we know you're...you're freaking Nao!" Hikaru says, crossing his arms, looking betrayed.

"You guys, please just-" I start, but Kaoru holds up his hand.

"Please what? As Nao, you never let us in, and same with you! Heck, we don't even know if you're Akemi. What is your name? Huh?" Kaoru says, and I take a step backwards, straight into someone. I turn around, and see Mori standing there with his arms crossed.

"Mori..." I say, but he looks away from me. I sigh, I really liked Mori, he's very sweet and quiet.

And hot!

"You guys, please, just stop..." I say, walking to the door as I slip on a pair of crocs by the door that just happen to be there, with my purse next to it. "I have my reasons, and if you delve too deep you may not find what you want. Please, for your safety, don't mention this."

Tamaki gasps, putting his hand on his heart. "But, Akemi, are you just going to avoid talking about this?!"

"Yes, Tamaki, and I want you to never speak of this again." I say seriously, "I've already considered leaving Ouran anyway, so please don't give me more reason."

Lobelia's...I might head there. Tamaki gasps again, as Honey's eyes water. "You're...leaving the Host Club, Na-Ake-uh..."

"Just...just leave me alone. I was talking about leaving Ouran High School, so yes, the Host Club would go too..." I respond, before I step out of the door quickly, closing it from behind me.

I see we're in a rich-cottage neighborhood, and sigh. Damn Kyoya, he just had to stick his nose in places that didn't belong...

Lobelia's was good for music, I could attend as Kako and not have to deal with all of this drama. This would also make Kei's deal invalid...

Kei...I hope no one is in danger. I didn't tell anyone, but the Host Club wouldn't tell, right?

"Wait up, Akemi!" Tamaki's voice calls out, but I don't falter, as I exit the house perimeter, turning down the road. I don't care if I get lost, I just want to go home.

Pulling out my phone from my purse, I hail an Uber, to meet me at a road a few blocks from here, as I hear running behind me. I turn my head around, and I see Haruhi, chasing after me.

"Wait up, Akemi!" She says, and I pause as she runs up to me, clearly out of breath.

"Did you tell them?" I ask, as I start walking again, as she trails by my side. "Of course not, what kind of friend do you think I am?" She asks, and I lightly laugh.

"Yeah, well, I'm thinking about what you said, y'know, transferring to Lobelia's at the end of the school year." I mutter, as she looks up at me in shock.

"Really? But...but why?" She asks, and Kei's warning flashed in my head, as I sigh.

"I'm just..." being told to not reveal what I am or my friends will be in danger. Oh wait-THAT HAPPENED.

"I'm just tired of pretending, it's hard for me to keep lying, y'know?" I say, as I reach the side of the street where the red truck, the Uber I got, was at waiting for me. Haruhi's eyebrows cinched together, forming a crease in between.

"Alright, I'll try to hold back them so you can get your belongings and go...I can tell you want to leave and go back home. I would too," she says, as I step inside the truck, giving her a small smile.

"Don't worry too much about me, Haruhi. Worry isn't good for the skin." I say, as she lightly laughs. "You always have a place at my home, okay?" She says, and a light smile crosses my face. "Thanks...Haruhi. That means a lot. I'll call you, or see you later." I say, as the engine starts, and the car peels away from Haruhi to the pension.

* * *

Thanks for reading, everyone! Don't forget to leave reviews, follow, or favorite, it really means a lot :D

I'm writing this at 1 AM (Sunday) reviewing about 100 words, so I'll reply to all reviews next chapter.


	14. Chapter 14: V&R- A Fresh Ignorant Start

I was in the Uber on my way back, I was released from the pension work early because I told the owner I felt sick. She released me begrudgingly, hoping that I'll come back next summer, which I promised her I

But, I was doing something dangerous. Something that I would stop doing if I overthink it.

Tomorrow is the application test for Ouran, and I'm going to be applying under Kako Fujioka.

It's dangerous, but Haruhi insisted I do it, so I'm going to try...without any makeup on, I'll look like a different person that's only slightly similar to Nao. But, wasn't the deal with Kei that I didn't let anyone know I was a girl? This is technically a loop hole, but he could be quite rash, and believe me to be smart-alacky...

Don't overthink this Kako!

"We've arrived at Starbucks, miss." The Uber Driver says, and I nod in thanks, grabbing my stuff as I make my way into the cafe, where my eyes roam and I see Kei sitting there impatiently. The pleasant smell of coffee beans washes over me, but instead of relaxing into the smell, I ignore it, eyes focused on Kei.

"Hello, Ryo." I say, walking over to his table, sitting down with my stuff beside me.

"Well, isn't this a surprise." He says with a smirk, reaching across the table, holding my hand in his, sending a light kiss on the back of my hand with icy lips. "How are you?" He asks, and I pull my hand away.

"Fine. But, you should know I didn't come here to chat about the weather." I say, as he leans back in his chair. "You're lucky I could come here, but I have to leave for a flight in a couple hours, so let's make this snappy."

I sigh, "I want to apply for the Ouran Scholarship again, but this time as Haruhi's relative: Kako Fujioka." I say, and he leans forward, propping his elbows on the table.

"This is interesting, but do you remember our deal, did you not?" He asks, and I nod. "Perfectly remember, that's why I'm asking. I won't let them know, and if I remain a boy at Ouran, there's more of a chance I'll be found out." I say, and he thinks, a smirk coming onto face, as he flashes perfectly white teeth.

"No. I'm not one to make adjustments to my deal. If you're a girl, men will become infatuated with you, and attempt to date you. And, as I said previously, you're mine and mine only." He finishes, a grin coming onto face, and I clench my hand into a fist, preventing myself from saying anything I'll regret. I really just want to hit this idiotic man! I have a life, and he's claiming it is his!

"That's the other thing...Lobelia's is having their applications tomorrow too. I don't currently know anyone from Lobelia, and it's an all female's school." I say, and he thinks, before the dreaded smirk falls back onto his face. "Sorry love, but you can date females there, or date people from outside Lobelia's at Ouran." He stands up from the table.

"I must leave for my flight now, see you later, my dove." He says, kissing me on the cheek, before leaving. My face flushes red in anger, as I still feel the icy touch of his lips on my cheek. That arse!

Angrily, I call for an Uber, as I get a black coffee. Like my soul right now, I could smack a bitch...

Smack a bitch...

I could learn self defense...meaning I could learn how to properly smack a bitch.

I could learn from Mori or Honey since they're hella good at that stuff, but I really want to keep my distance from everyone for now...I care for all of them like family, to be perfectly honest, and I felt like we all were in a really good place before...

Before I fucked up with the Host Club.

* * *

I had earned about $5,000 dollars for the rest of summer break, which is like 4 weeks left after I left the pension, working at Miyako's. Performing, waiting on tables, cleaning up after, babysitting gigs, tutoring, finishing pre-school homework, finishing up the French course, reading, and, of course, I started doing self-defense classes.

I thought it would be good to learn how to protect myself, so I went to a place that specialized in teaching Krav Maga, and I've been working 2 practices a day. Of course, I've gained some weight with muscle mass, and I lost some body fat. I felt super healthy, it was great!

Of course, I haven't really talked to any Ouran people since the...incident. I've chatted every few days with Haruhi and Ritsu, occasionally Umehito, but I've ignored everyone else in the Host Club. Honey and Mori call 3 times a day at breakfast, lunch and dinner time, the twins at 4 times a day (from each of them), Kyoya at a surprising number of 8, and, with the highest caller being Tamaki with a 15 calls a day. They all left messages at the beginning after every call, but now everyone just leaves 1 message a day, except Tamaki, who leaves 15 messages. He tells me about his day in the messages, always hanging up with "Have a nice day, Akemi. Call me back, please."

But now, I'm... back to school...

A dreaded day, it truly is. I was happy without homework, Host Club, and drag dramas, but now they're stacking up...

Ew!

My hair had been cut over break since it got longer, and now it was only slightly long. It was short on the sides, with a bunch on the top that flopped over to my eyebrow. Surprisingly, it started curling at the end, so it slightly curled outward at the end. I hated the hairstyle, and I call it 'The Douchebag', and I really regret getting a haircut. The only reason it looks the way it does is because I went in for a trim, the new guy was doing my hair, and he chopped it lopsided-ly, and I looked like Farquad from Shrek. So, a professional took over, and made it look like this. On the plus side, I got a free haircut.

I walk into Ouran, and all the girls start squealing.

"Wow Nao, you look great! The new haircut is super hot!" A girl says, and I smile at her. "Thanks, Kelly." I say with a wink, turning my voice to boy-mode, and her eyes turn into hearts along with 20 other girls, as she faints backwards.

Girls are SO dramatic!

I make my way to class 1-A, and I open the door, seeing everyone in there already.

"Naoooooooo!" The girls say, rushing towards me like vultures. I feel like Simba when The Stampede rushed towards him.

"How was your break, Nao?"

"Wow Nao! You're haircut makes you look super sexy!"

"Nao! Did you get a girlfriend over break?!"

"Woah, ladies, calm down please," I say with a nervous laugh, holding my hands up. "Thanks for all the compliments, my break was great. I'll answer all questions at the Host Club tonight."

"See you there Nao!" They all chorus, when the teacher comes in, and we all sit in our spots. The twins, who are slightly less pale, are sitting behind me, and I feel their eyes bearing into my back.

"Hey Haruhi!" I greet, as she smiles up at me, and her eyes widen at my hair. "Woah, Nao, nice hair..." she whistles, and I laugh, running my fingers through it as it falls over my eye.

"Thanks, I wanted to shake it up a bit." I say, and she raises a brow. "Did you get more muscular over break?" She asks, looking at my arms, where slight muscle bulges through. I put my arm down, loosening it to my side. "Honestly, I've been taking some Krav Maga for self defense, since the area I'm tutoring some kids in is pretty shady." I say, half-lying.

"Maybe Nao needs to take self-defense because he can't trust anyone else to help him," Hikaru whispers loudly to Kaoru. "Yeah, I think they-" Kaoru starts, but I stand up, holding my hand up.

"Yes, Mr. Araki?" The teacher asks, looking at me over the rims of their glasses.

"Can I please be transferred closer to the front of class? I'm having a hard time reading the board." I say, and the teacher nods, pointing at the empty desk in the second row.

"Feel free to move, Mr. Araki. Now..." The teacher starts, continuing the lesson, as I pack up my bags, dropping down to a crouched position.

"You didn't have to do that, Nao..." Haruhi whispers.

"I honestly can't see with all the bullshit from the twins lingering around me, sorry." I whisper back, completely ignoring the twins as I stand back up, walking to the empty desk.

The teacher finishes the lesson, moving aside as the class representative takes their place.

"All right, next item on the agenda. I move to discuss what the class plans will be for next week, and it's about the class special event for Halloween." He says, and I raise a brow. This guy's name is Kazukiyo Soga, and I call him Kiyo for short.

"Next week? Aren't we a bit late to start planning?" I ask, and Kiyo shrugs. "It's pretty easy to plan. Basically, all we have to do is A\after we finish taking our exams for the fall, we're allowed a few days off until the end of October, and we get to throw costume parties on campus to celebrate. And also, to promote camaraderie, each class is allowed to use an entire day for a special class event of their choosing." He explains, and I sigh. We just got back from summer break! (A/N-I'm switching up the order a bit since Halloween is soon :D)

"And, Mr. Araki, we have been told you are to help class 1-D plan." The teacher says, and I arch a brow.

"Wha-?" I ask, and he shrugs. "Just go to class 1-D for this, please." He says, and I shrug.

"Okay, see everyone later!" I say cheerfully, picking up my bags as all the girls swoon.

I make my way to the door, stepping out and walking to room 1-D. What could I be doing there? I stand in front of the door, when I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around to see-

"Mr. Suoh? If I may politely ask, what am I doing in room 1-D?" I ask, and he smiles. "Greetings, Araki. I thought it would be very helpful if you could help organize 1-D's special event since we have 2 honors students this year in the same grade. This year, we're having a little competition to see which classroom produces the best results, and 1-A usually wins. So, I thought if we put you in 1-D for this event, it could spice up the event." He explains, and I arch a brow.

"What's the prize for the winning class?" I ask, it's probably a pizza party or something-

"We're taking the winning class on a week trip to France with the second years!" He says with jazz hands, and I nearly stop breathing. For a 'little competition?!"

"Uh, sure." I say, and he grins. "Great, get in there, than! Have fun!" He says, pushing me in through the doors.

Looking around the room, I see it in shambles with random papers strewn across the room, spray paint on the walls, the students talking loudly as they sit on the desks, backpacks lazily distributed over, and no teacher in sight. Some students are smoking, and I cough slightly at the rat poison, attracting attention from all the rough-looking students. None of them are female, or under 6' apparently, because all of them seem to tower over me.

Stay strong Nao...

"Hey everyone, I'm Nao, and I'm here to help with the Halloween celebration." I say loudly, and they all laugh at me.

"Why bother when we're gonna lose to 1-A? Suoh already told us about the competition, like our class would win!" A rough voice in the class says, making everyone laugh harder.

"Wait, is that actually Nao?" A familiar sounding voice says, and I see a familiar red-head stand up, walking over to me.

"Hey Ritsu!" I say cheerfully, and he looks at my hair. "Woah, you cut your hair. You look less like a chic now." he says bluntly, and I sweat drop.

"Yeah, I just wanted to chop it off..." I say, scratching the back of my neck.

"Well, I'm class representative, and I agree with Nao. We should put effort into this, so other classes will take us seriously." Ritsu says to the class, and they go silent.

"They don't?" I ask, and Ritsu nods slightly. "We're mocked, and no one from other classes talks with us." A voice from the back says.

"But we don't need them, lil' fuckers!" Another voice chimes in, and the boys laugh.

"Yeah! We're too good for them!"

"We're still better!"

"Boys!" I say, standing up on the teacher's desk to get attention, as they go silent. "Let's do this so 1-D gets the respect they deserve! You guys aren't the gum under someone's shoe, you're better than that! If you believe you're getting mocked, than you need to work on your self image instead of saying 'fuck it' to everything! We're gonna win this competition, and get the respect you all deserve, and to show who's the top dog. Who's in it with me?" I ask, as they cheer.

If someone's loud, these boys get excited. They're a bipolar bunch...

"Now, let's do this! We'll work after school for this too, so all sports and clubs will be cancelled for us until we're done." Ritsu says, reading from some clipboard, and I smile internally.

No Host Club! Pulling out my phone, I open the chatroom that I've been ignoring all summer break, with the boys constantly asking where I was. I type in a few words that liberate me, before I close my phone, turning it on silent.

 _Not going to Host Club. Spook is more important._

* * *

 _Hello everyone, so I have some extremely important notes to talk about!_

 _1) I'm going to Hawaii! Yes, I am going to Hawaii on vacation for a week, so I will not update either next Sunday, or the Sunday before Halloween (most likely to be Sunday before Halloween.) So, I might update early this week to make sure everyone gets a chapter to read :D so if you have an account, put me on notifications to see when it comes out, or if you're a guest reader, you can make an account or just check every day starting **THURSDAY**_

 _2) I actually STILL haven't decided who I want Akemi/Kako/Nao to end up with, and I decided to start with a fresh slate by having all of them find out/not talking to the MC for a few weeks so her undecided emotions will shuffle. So, I'm closing the POLL on my page to end on Halloween on who the MC will end up with. That's right, and there's some new options like Kei, Ryo, Umehito, Ritsu, and more! No, I am not adding Miyako, because she already has a girlfriend. I don't support cheaters on my page:D_

 _3) Speaking of my page, I plan on posting some of my chapters on wattpad soon, so I'll let you all know when that's happening :D_

 _4) The episodes are out of order: Yeah, I know that, but since halloween is coming up, I wanted it to be up-to-date with real time for spooky-themed goodness._

 _5) I will be replying to everyone's reviews now!_

 _DeceivingAura- The problem about the MC talking to the Host Club about their problems is that Kei said he would hurt them emotionally and physically if MC tells the HC, so she is afraid to have them be hurt. She wants to only rely on herself, so no one else gets hurt in the process._

 _Yo- I kinda shipped her with Kasanoda at first, but than I decided it is best to let Kasanoda pursue her so we can have the poll going on. If you want her to have a chance, vote on the poll on my page (IDK if you can do it on iOS?)  
_

 _TDI-RYRO-ECLARES: Kyoya probably could attempt to get her out of the situation with his extreme power and wealth, and Mori and Honey could too, but MC doesn't really want to open up to them._

 _If you have any questions, please leave a review! Heck, just leave a review on anything, and if you don't want to put something on the review page please PM me. Thank you!_


	15. Chapter 15: Vines and Roses

Guess who's back? I might put this story on hiatus for a bit because my grades in school are a bit rocky rn, but I wanted to give u all the Halloween special :3

* * *

Eyebrow twitching, I look up at the poster one of the 1-D members shoved in my face. "What the hell is this supposed to be..." I say with a sweat drop, as anime-like sparkles appear in his eyes.

"An American-style Halloween party, of course!" He says, spinning with poster in hand. "It's called Booze or Babes!"

"...but what's with the images on it?" I ask, looking at the almost-naked blonde haired woman on the poster, a flirtatious wink on her face as she wears her birthday suit, privates covered up by jack-o'-lanterns.

"Um, that's obviously the 'Babe' part!" Another guy chimes in, and I roll my eyes.

"What's the food?" I ask, and the two boys smirk.

"Well, first we'd take caramel and drizzle it all over her ***** and than we'd lick it off like a lollipop, and than she'd get her treat by taking a suck of my **B E E P,** and if she acts naughty, we'd give her a trick by putting it in the A-"

"Alright, let's just stop there..." I say, pulling out my phone and texting Dan, when I get an instant response. Go to bed, it's like 1 AM in America!

"Okay, my brother who lives in America told me Halloween there is not like that...kids dress up as what they want to be, anything really. They knock on doors, and get candy. Some teenagers and college students might throw a party, but that's pretty much it." I say, looking at the text message my brother sent me. All the guys sigh in defeat.

"Well, 1-A is throwing a Haunted House in the school. How can we beat that?" Ritsu asks, and I think.

"This may sound really unoriginal, but how about a Halloween party that's not Booze or Babes? We can have it in the ballroom, and we can have a contest...a costume contest!" I say.

"Wha' woul' tha prizes 'e?" Someone asks, and I think. "Well, there should be multiple categories...for ladies I can probably pull a few Host Club strings and some product prizes...but I don't know what rich guys would want."

"They get a night with one of the winner females!"

"No," I say, "How about they...ugh, I don't know..." I say, smoothing back my shorter hair in frustration.

"We'll think of that later," Ritsu says, "For now, we need to find a catering business, a party planning business-"

"Nah, we got this. We don't need a party planner, we can find catering businesses and the like using your connections. That's what this project's all about, working together to complete one masterpiece." I say, and the room is quiet. I think I inspired them, how great that I got to th-

They all burst out in laughter, some falling off the desks they sat on, some with tears in their eyes. Most clutch their stomachs, as Ritsu and I sweat drop.

"C-connections?" Someone asks in between laughter, "We're all connected to the yakuza somehow! That's hilarious!"

"You sound awfully girly when you speak like that, girly-boy!" Someone else chimes in, "..."

"Girly-boy! Whatcha gonna do when you fail for the first time in your li-"

"SHUT UP WILL YA?!" I shout, as everyone goes silent. "Good, now you're all going to listen up now! I don't have the patience to deal with bullshit, and I've been pretty nice about this shit, but I don't care if I keep a nice face up any longer! We're gonna throw this bomb-ass Halloween shit, and it's going to be so great that it's elected to make America great again! You can either whine and use where you come from as an excuse, or you can rise above this 'oh, look at me, I'm number one now rich dick heads!"

...

I feel like I need to say sorry now.

"Nao's right, we gotta do this." Ritsu says, and slowly, everyone pulls out their phone, texting or calling someone.

"Hello? Hey Ma, remember that guy who catered at Angelica's wedding last year? Yeahhhhh! The one who made that cake look like a pile o' grenades!"

"Ayy Roberto, that was a sick-ass party you hosted last month. Can you give me the number of the bartender? He makes a killer Bloody Mary!"

I smile lightly, looking up at a surprised Ritsu. "We might just pull this off..." I say, practically beaming, and he nods.

"I just called the superintendent, he said we can use the big ballroom!" A boy with blue hair says, and everyone cheers.

* * *

"Alright, we have 25 students in here, including me." I say the next day, pointing at the whiteboard. "And we have 1 week to prepare for this, so let's get this started!"

Pointing at Group 1. "This group is called Coulrophobia, and that means the fear of clowns. I thought it'd be funny if we had scary group names. Anyway, you guys will be in charge of making arrangements for businesses, aka catering, decorations, bars. We want Halloween themed shit, so when discussing it with the businesses, I have the color scheme papers printed off and laminated, waiting for you guys on the front desk, along with the businesses contacted already." I say, pointing at a desk with a bunch of papers on it. "Your home base will be here."

I strategically picked the groups. Coulrophobia group has the smartest students in this class, who have mostly B-s, and B+s. "When you're done, submit the final entries to me and Ritsu, and we'll go over them."

Pointing to the second group on the board. "This is Grim Reapers. You guys are in charge of making the posters, since you're all hella good at graphic design. Final submissions in 3 days." I saw the doodles on the edges of their paper, and found out that certain places in town that are spray painted are by them. Needless to say, the guy who made that one poster is also on it. "Mention the costume contest, and how admission is $10 dollars. Home base for you guys is also in here, where you'll work on the color scheme with Coulrophobia to make sure it's on point."

"Why isn't it free?" Someone asks, and I smirk. "Y'all rich. Besides, if we have a low admission cost, everyone will think it's some cheap and flimsy thing, and will come to make fun of it. That's when we surprise them..."

"Speaking of surprises, this is where Group 3 comes in, called Psychos. You guys are on the team in which you design the tickets for entrance to the dance, and when finished with that you guys will join up with Team 4, which is Spoop. Spoop will be working on setting up the ballroom, which we will start doing once we receive the items we need to set up."

The guys cheer, "And for now, I'll leave Ritsu in charge...I have to go recruit judges for the costume contest, and some possible prizes."

"Yes sir!" They mock-salute, as Ritsu nods at me. "I'll be back in a few hours at latest!" I call out, looking at the clock that reads 3:00. Just in time...

Turning from the room, I calmly walk out, and practically sprint to the wretched place I don't want to even think about going to...

Music Room 3.

Creaking the door open, I look inside to see ladies at dining tables with vampire-dressed Host Club members, minus 1-A's Haruhi, and the Hitatwins.

"Welcome~fair lady!" They say, turning to me, when everyone (save for Kyoya's) jaw dropped.

"NAO~~~~" Tamaki says, sprinting towards me to hug me, but I step to the side, as he rams into the hallway, and I close the door behind me.

"NAO~~~~" The ladies say, flocking towards me.

"You haven't been here in, like, forever~!"

"Why aren't you in 1-A? I miss you!"

"Kya~ Your new hairstyle is soooo hooooot!"

"Ladies, please," I say sheepishly, never imagining I'd say that sentence. "I've been working on a Halloween party for class 1-D, and I was going to ask if all of you ladies would like to attend. We've been putting lots of hard work into it...and I want to share what I've created with you all."

"KYAAA~ OF COURSE NAOOO!" They say, as the door creaks open, Tamaki poking his head in.

"Also... I was wondering if the Host Club could possibly be of service to the party?" I ask, as Kyoya strides towards me, looking like Count Van Count from Sesame Street.

"I'm listening..." He says, flipping open his black book. "WELllllllllll~ we were hoping to have a costume contest," I say loudly, "and the female winners get a voucher for a free, one-on-one time with a Host Club member of choice."

All the ladies start gushing, and I hear a loud gasp. "NAO'S HERE?!"

Looking over Kyoya's shoulder, I see Honey popping out of a nap. "Yeah, I'm here." I say neutrally, as Honey runs towards me. "HUUUUUUGGGGG!"

Stepping aside, Honey lands in the arms of Tamaki instead...which is very funny to see. "Sure, why not. But, we need something from you." Kyoya says, and I think... not money, not coupons...

Aha! I got it! Standing on my tippy-toes, I place my lips near Kyoya's ear.

"How about everyone in the HC gets to ask me 3 questions and I answer completely?"

He pulls away, stunned, and the look quickly morphs into a smirk, baring his fake fangs. "You've got a deal."

"Nao." A strong, deep voice says from behind me, and I turn to see Mori. "Oh, hey Takash-"

Quickly, Mori wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug against his chest, causing all the ladies to anime-nose bleed. "I missed you."

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~!"

"I missed you too, Mori... you have a really tight hug, ya know?" I say, and he lets go.

"I can't believe you cut your hair, Nao!" Tamaki says, crying. "It was so long and pretty, and gave you a girly aspect that you lack as-"

"A boy, I know. My parents wished I was a girl, but they were slightly disappointed to see a _boy_ instead..." I growl out, sending Tamaki in shivers. Sighing, I turn back to Kyoya.

"I'll be back once Halloween is over, and I was also wondering if you'd like to be a judge in the costume contest?" I ask, and Kyoya smirks. "It'd be my pleasure."

Turning to the ladies, I give a flirtatious wink. "I hope to see you all there!" I say with a smile, as they all melt.

Looking towards the other Host Club members, I nod at them. "I've heard what happened with Akemi over summer break...we'll talk about that later. Akemi is trying to protect you from a great danger, so if you tell anyone, lives will be on the line."

They all gulp, giving me a nod as I exit the room, a sigh on my lips.

* * *

Sorry, this is all I could write this week.


	16. Chapter 16: The Finale

My computer broke on Halloween lmao so I couldn't upload it on that day, whoops

Kei's POV, sometime in the past before the start of the school year.

* * *

"You mean that little bitch is gone?" I calmly ask into the phone, practically smelling the nervous dimwitted mongoloid who was on the other end.

"Y-yes, she was abducted by us o-on the ransom note-" he stuttered, "but she was n-never found."

"She obviously ran away, idiot." A sigh rolls off my lips as my eyes scrolled over the police report. "She used the mafia name that seemed small, and she obviously didn't know I was apart of it. She's smart, and we wouldn't be able to find her if her parents told her what mafia she was being carted off to."

"...what would you like to do now, sir? Should we eliminate the family and use it as blackmail so she comes back?"

"Kako didn't give a fuck about her family, seemingly. After all, her father always gambled for the chance to provide, but it took a wrong turn," I laugh slightly. "Call our hackers and get her information online."

"Y-yes sir."

* * *

 **1 week later**

"You have information, I see?" I ask, leaning back in the wooden chair, propping my feet upon the desk. The scrawny weasel sat before me, hands shaking.

"Y-yes sir, you see, there is n-n-no information." I arch a brow, did he think I was stupid?

"How is there no information?"

"Everything about Kako Araki is erased off the internet. There's no files about her birth, or her accomplishments or grades. I-it's like she never existed," he sighs, and I run my fingers through my hair.

"Weston?"

"Y-yes sir?"

"This is the first time I haven't completed a chase, and I don't know how to feel about that," I chuckle, "clearly her father has taught her to lie about her name from the very beginning."

"I-I suppose so, sir."

"Weston?"

"Yes?"

"Send the brawlers out to her house. Kill the father, and leave the mother alive. Ransack the house for anything valuable, and make sure she doesn't call the police," I pause, chuckling. "That'll show them to never lie to us."

"Y-yes sir."

* * *

 **1 month later**

"Sir, are you sure you wish to attend Ouran High School?" Weston asks, as I shrug on my jacket. "Yes, I have many future business partners there. If I can integrate myself with the shadier businessmen and some of the smaller yakuzas, it will be an easy alliance."

Pressing the hangup button, I exit the limo as girls eye me. I had disguised my looks slightly incase anyone would recognize my ice-blue eyes, but overall I looked the same, though I added a mole. Entering my classroom, the teacher droned on and on about measly subjects that no one gives a damn about, and I zoned out.

The next day at lunch, I saw someone that I recognized from long ago, the person I had been looking for.

Kako.

Instead of happiness or pride filling my heart from completing the hunt, anger filled it instead. This bitch had me waste resources and caused multiple problems for me, only for them to run away and be right under my nose?!

No, I'm not going to let this go on. I'll play dumb for now, but surely I'll make them slowly trust me and then snatch that trust away. I'll force and coerce them into remaining in hiding for the rest of their life as punishment, always restricting them with a lingering threat bobbing above her head.

 _This would be much more exciting._

* * *

 **MODERN DAY NAO**

"The Hallow's Eve Ball," I read off the poster, "come if you dare."

"So...do you like it?" The person in charge of posters says, and I give the thumbs up. "Certainly better than 'Booze-or-Babes. We have about 4 days before the event, so hang up copies everywhere."

"You got it!" They salute, running off with the stacks of posters.

This ball is probably going to be the last school event where only Haruhi and I know the truth. I'll have to fess up to the Host Club within the month, and I'm not prepared. I've constructed this web of lies as a place to dwell, but now that I'm emerging from it I'll probably lose all the trust they've built up for me.

I hope that Kei never finds out what I'm telling them, too. Or else...

Ugh, I don't wish to even think about it. Exiting the room, I head to the Host Club for the second part of the deal, adjusting the silly costume.

I was wearing a bright orange vest over a white tshirt, jeans and brown loafers, a construction hard-hat thrown on my head and a bright orange fannypack around my waist. I was going there to promote the Hallow's Eve Ball.

Bursting through the door, everyone's heads turned to me as I took off the helmet, running my fingers through my hair. I had taken off my glasses to seem 'hotter' (according to Ritsu), so everyone in the room from a distance looked like blurry blobs.

Damn it, why would I forget my contacts today?!

"Hey ladies, we're having the Hallow's Eve Ball this Friday in the main ballroom," I greet, "my fellow Hosts and I will be judging the costume contest."

Whispers floated around the room, and I smirked. "The winners of the costume contest will get a free voucher for one-on-one time with their host of choice."

The girls started squealing, as Tamaki looked over at me from the corner of his eye, a small frown on his face. I ignored it, continuing on with my monologue.

"There'll be food, dancing, and it'll be one good time. I'm selling tickets," I inform, lifting up my shirt slightly from the bottom to reveal some of my abs as I grab the fanny pack, tearing it off me. The girls' eyes turned to hearts as I unzipped it, "for ten dollars."

My abs were a 4 pack, but I showed them just enough for them to get hot and heavy.

The girls rushed towards me, and I quickly sold all of my tickets. Smirking to the rest of the Host Club, I waved my hand. "I'll be returning next week. Goodbye, everyone!"

And with that, I walked away from the room, knowing that I'll return within the next week to the room, but not in the way they'd think.

My final goodbye would hopefully satisfy them.

* * *

 **Hallow's Eve Ball**

Smoothing down the poofy baby blue skirt of the ball gown, I proceeded to smooth down the capelet I wore. I donned a light grey wig that was straightened and fell down to my hips, I adjusted the mask on my face made of silvery threads. I was going as the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, and the reason I wasn't attending as Nao was because he suddenly barfed and was told to go home.

All I had to do was imagine some gross hentai and I was good to go. Since I was to perform at the event tonight, I figured it'd allow me a good view of the ballroom to make sure all goes smoothly. Besides, the boys knew that my cousin would be there in my stead. I slipped on silk black gloves, as I look around the small apartment, causing me to give a small sigh as I pull the extra key from my counter and stuffed it in my large bag.

I can't believe I've built myself up from the ground only to tumble down this far and initiate this plan.

Slipping my feet into a pair of black flats, I opened the door of the apartment to be met with Ritsu, holding a bag of McDonald's, and he was looking down at his phone.

"Hey Nao, sorry you weren't feeling well earlier so I-" he looks up at me, gasping in shock as he drops the bag of McDonald's.

"W-What are you doing at Nao's house?" He asks, as I arch a brow, shutting the door behind me, hoping I didn't seem rude or suspicious. "I was checking up on him before I left to make sure everything was all good. What are you doing?"

"I-I brought him food," he responds, holding up the McDonald's bag.

"I don't think that's a good idea, he puked up crackers on my wig," I grumbled out a lie, crossing my arms, "so I was forced to use this one."

"Wig?" He asks, "I thought the blue hair was your real hair!"

"No, my real hair is frizzy and gross," I respond, making my way down the stairs as Ritsu trails down behind me. I low key drop my extra key in the planted pot by the stairwell. He was wearing a black suit and tie, with a tall black top hat on his head. He was either a magician or Abraham Lincoln, I can't tell yet.

"Would you like to ride with me to Ouran?" Ritsu asks as I give an abrupt nod, entering the limousine.

* * *

"Wonderful! Exquisite! The first years did a marvelous job on this!" Tamaki's annoying voice called out from about 10 meters away, causing me to roll my eyes. This costume party was merely to show off who had the best designer costume. After the dancing for 3 hours takes place, from now until 10:00, there will be a 30 minute costume contest with results announced at 11:00. Then, until 12:00 it was a classical ball, ending at the last chime of the grand tower. I heard that some Host Club members had sold their dance times off (which was most likely Kyoya's idea, that genius bastard), and would be occupied until the end of the ball.

This was greatly in my favor, of course.

But for now, the party was in full swing, with a bar with *spooky drinks* for 5 dollars ("absurdly cheap!" in some rich folk's eyes), and some games outside the ballroom. The final song from the DJ played as everyone gave a final round of applause, causing me to inhale through my nose.

I've got this, I look completely different than Nao like this.

"Yo, next up we have our lady Akemi! Let's give a round of applause for her!" The DJ announces, causing the audience to scream, mostly of girls who have seen me performing at Host Club events. Plastering a large grin on my face, I step up to the mic, waving a hand for everyone. The lights were too bright to see anyone, but I knew that all members of the Host Club had their eyes on me.

"Who's hyped for tonight?!" I belt into the mic, emitting more cheers. "Alright, we're going to slow it down with a slow dance, so find yourself a partner and get ready for a slooooww danceeee!"

Pulling up my guitar, I began to strum some chords in a calm melody.

(Ghosting-Mother Mother Cover by J BRUN)

 _"I've been ghosting, I've been ghosting along_  
 _Ghost in your house, ghost in your arms,"_ I sing as couples assimilate together on the floor.

 _"When you're tossing, when you turn in your sleep_  
 _It's because I'm ghosting your dreams,"_ the lights dimmed, and I was able to see a face staring back at me in the crowd. I felt my heart falter momentarily as I saw the slight disappointment and depression on their face, as their eyes held a longing. They longed to know what ailed me, but I don't know if I can tell.

 _"And this is why I have decided_  
 _To pull these old white sheets from my head,"_ I remove the hood, showing my grey wig in all of its glory.

 _"I'll leave them folded neat and tidy_  
 _So that you'll know I'm out of hiding."_

 _"Ohhh..."_

 _"I've been ghosting, I've been ghosting along_  
 _Ghost in the world, ghost with no home-"_ what was of my parents? My brother? Kei had made me suffer for so long, forcing me into hiding.

I'm going to come out of that hiding soon, though.

 _"I remember, I remember the days_  
 _When I'd make you oh-so afraid!"_ The fear in the club's eyes when I hid, when I rolled away, when I-

 _"And this is why I have decided_  
 _To leave your house and home unhaunted."_ I need to leave my secret world behind, and I hope the cleverly crafted words of this song can display this to them.

 _"You don't need poltergeists for sidekicks!"_ Looking through the crowd, I picked out Honey. His wide-happy like eyes didn't show that they knew that I contained a double meaning of my song.

 _"You don't need treats..._  
 _And you don't need tricks_  
 _You don't need treats_  
 _You don't need tricks_  
 _You don't need no Halloween!"_ Next was Hikaru and Kaoru, but both seemed unaware of my words.

 _"You don't need treats_  
 _You don't need tricks_  
 _And you don't need me,"_ glancing towards Tamaki as he spun a girl around the room, we made eye contact, causing the charming smile on his face to falter for a moment.

Ah, so he did realize I had a double meaning to my song. He realized something was ailing me to sing this song instead of a happier, boppier song.

 _"Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed_  
 _I'm just a ghost out of his grave_  
 _And I can't make love in my grave-"_ shifting my gaze to Kyoya who sat at the bar, he pushed his glasses up with his finger as usual as he scribbled down notes.

That bastard did know something, but when does he not?

But the question is what is he writing down?

 _"I won't put white into your hair_  
 _I won't make noises in your stairs_  
 _I will be kind and I'll be sweet_  
 _If you stop staring straight through me,"_ glancing towards Haruhi, she gave me a semi-nod, already aware of my secret, possibly already knowing of what I planned to do but not how I was going to do it.

I wonder how shocked she'll be when she gets news of what has happened.

I'm just sad that I can't say a final goodbye.

 _"And this is why I have decided_  
 _To pull these old white sheets from my head!"_ Ritsu didn't make eye contact with me, but he seemed unaware of my song's meaning.

 _"I'll leave them folded neat and tidy_  
 _So that you'll know I'm out of hiding,"_ My final look was towards Mori, who looked at me with steadfast dark brown eyes. He nodded his head ever-so-slightly, acknowledging me trying to show that I've given up hiding my secret. Giving a grimace, I continued playing my song.

 _"And this is why I have decided_  
 _To leave your house and home unhaunted."_

 _"You don't need poltergeists for sidekicks..."_

 _"You don't need treats_  
 _You don't need tricks_  
 _You don't need treats_  
 _You don't need no Hallows Eve,"_ I spit out each word with almost a loathing turn at my anger for Kei, which went unnoticed by the crowd.

 _"You don't need treats_  
 _You don't need tricks_  
 _And you don't need me,"_ I breathed out me, earning a round of applause from the people, snapping me out of my thought. Giving a false grin, I begin singing some Halloween songs, until the clock struck 10:00.

The costume contest began as the Hosts sat at a long table, judging all the females. Sighing to myself, I made my way to the bar, where Miyako sat in disguise. She temporarily dyed her pixie cut brown as she had a large, black mask obscuring the majority of her face. Glancing around the bar, I noticed there were a couple of other people there, and I sighed. Looking towards Miyako, I tapped my finger twice on the table as she gave me a short nod.

Plan 'B' had gone into action, however there'll still be the same outcome.

"What kind of drink do you want?" She asks.

"Lemon Spook-a-rita, please," I respond, as she picks up a lemon and begins cutting, 'accidentally' knicking her thumb as blood poured out. Miyako had two rare conditions: hemophilia (where one bleeds easily with nose bleeds, but if cut will bleed profusely) and CIP, where she cannot feel pain.

The perfect pairing for my plan.

"Oh my gods! Are you okay?" I ask as she held up her profusely bleeding thumb. Ritsu looked over, before coming over to the bar.

"Hey, are you okay, Miss?" Ritsu asks, as Miyako summoned up teary eyes.

"I'm fine, but I'd hate to say that I don't know if I can continue working, I bleed really heavily once I'm cut, and I'm afraid that's a health issue," Miyako responds as I cough into my sleeve.

Gah! It doesn't sound hoarse enough! I cough even more, imagining swallowing the Nickelodeon slime, which makes me sound even worse.

"We can have someone else take care of the bar tonight, so you can go home. Akemi, are you okay?"

"I think I caught what Nao has," I rasp out as Ritsu sighs.

"Why don't you take it easy tonight so you don't lose your voice? Can you also take her to the medicine room so she doesn't bleed everywhere and you get yourself some water? I don't want you to get sick."

I smile, putting my hand on Ritsu's shoulder. "Thanks, Ritsu!" I lean forward, giving him a light peck on the cheek.

A goodbye kiss, if you will. His whole face lights up like it's a Christmas Tree as Miyako stifles her laughter. Looking over at her, I gesture for her to follow as we make our way outside.

Making sure no one was outside, I cleared my throat. "Hey, Miyako, sorry I made you do Plan B."

"No worries, I expected it'd go in that direction anyway-" she responds as I breath in the cold air to my lungs. I walk across campus to wear the room where the Host Club is as I make my way up the staircase. I tossed her the gauze from my bag as she wrapped it around her finger.

"I placed the extra key in the potted plant by the stairwell to my apartment. I cannot say thank you enough for doing this for me," I respond as I pull her into the room next to the Host Club's where all excess costumes were stored. I turn on the light as we both begin to strip down our clothing, trading outfits with one another. We were roughly the same height, build and size, save for she was a bit shorter than me, but it was fine since she had black flats with a bit of a heel on them. Passing her the grey wig and the mask completed the outfit, as she pulled the hood up and placed on the mask.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this? I mean, if one thing doesn't go well then you're screwed!"

"It's the only way," I smirk, "though I do agree, it's a bit dramatic. This ball is the perfect cover, though. Thank you so much for everything, though."

I embrace her in a hug, which she tightly hugs me back as tears threaten to cloud my image. Pulling away was hard as I wiped away my tears, passing her my old phone.

"When you leave tonight, make sure to do so at 11:38, and cough throughout the rest of the dance. Always have a drink on you and try to look unapproachable, but if a person approaches you and asks you to dance then deny them politely." I remind as she nods.

"After you get to my apartment, place the phone on my counter, but shut it down completely. Stay there for the night, I left some food in the fridge for you, but the next morning take the box I left there and ship it off to the address I wrote down on the tag inside the left glove. After you do so, please burn the gloves, and get rid of the dress."

"Anything else?" She asks, as I pause. "No."

"Alright," she sighs, "I'm very angry with you, Akemi, you left me without a singer." A brash goodbye it was, but there was emotion clouding it. I smiled softly at her kind words as we gave each other one last hug, before she pulls away and walks off through the doors, heading to the ballroom. I wait 10 minutes, before exiting the closet.

Reaching into my bag, I pull out a letter as I unlock the Host Club door with my spare key. I barge into the dark room as I turn the lights on. It's strange, without the Host Club this room seems awfully dull. Walking over to the counter I set the letter down, as I glanced around the room.

Even stranger is that this room doesn't have security cameras.

Pulling out my flashlight, I turn off the lights as I turn the flashlight on, making my way over to the Western Wall where a pair of curtains had been installed. Yanking aside the curtains it revealed a grand door, which I creaked open, pulling the curtains close behind me as I shut the door. Down was a long, winding staircase to the hardly-used basement where the Black Magic Club had their moon-lit meetings.

I bunched my skirt in my hands as I headed down the staircase, careful not to trip over. The less evidence I had left, the smoother the escape I'd have.

I finally reached their part of the basement where I looked around at a large, cavernous room with an altar in the center with a large pyre burning. Ah, the fire that never can die, or in my opinion 'the biggest fire hazard.' I turned on the lights as I made my way to the corner of the room, opening it to reveal a large shredder, and on the shelf above it a stack of clothing I had left there previously. Taking off my bartender uniform, I tore shreds of cloth off and proceeded to put it in the shredder until all that remained was scraplets of black and white, then I pulled the set of clothes down from the top shelf.

I pulled out a large, oversized sweatshirt with some random dental clinic about 200 miles south of Ouran with a miscellaneous grease stain under my boob. Then I put on a pair of baggy black sweatpants and a pair of crocs. Reaching into my bag, I withdrew a cropped black wig and shoved it onto my head, alongside a new pair of bulky glasses that made my eyes appear a lot bigger. Tucking the glasses onto my sweatshirt for a moment, I pulled out an eyeshadow applicator as I brushed hot pink eyeshadow onto my lids. Shoving the glasses onto my face, I grabbed the shredder and removed the lid, heading to the Biggest Fire Hazard and dumped all the contents in the fire. The fire fed with cloth grew momentarily, as if satisfied with the sacrifice place in it. Placing the shredder back where it was, I looked at the oversized bag I had.

Thank the gods Miyako let me borrow it, I felt like Mary Poppins. All I had to tell her was that I was leaving this town because an ex was stalking me, and she was happy to assist. Checking the clock on the wall, I noticed it had turned 11:00. The results were being announced now, and the dancing would commence around now, too. Miyako was probably arriving in the ballroom now, due to the long walk in heels, so the Host Club wouldn't be able to harass her.

Turning back towards the closet, I pushed it aside to reveal a long, winding hallway. Umehito showed me a map when we were hanging out one day as he explained the history of Ouran.

And this tunnel was my chance to freedom.

Turning off the lights and turning on my flashlight, I pulled the closet door behind me as I entered the dark tunnel. Leaning against the wall was a skate board, which I would use now as this tunnel goes on for about 10 km, where I'd exit through a ladder that is in an alleyway about 2 blocks away from the airport, where a flight was destined to leave at 12:25.

With no time to lose, I began skateboarding down the tunnel.

After about 40 minutes the tunnel ended with a large ladder as I tucked the skateboard under my arm, pulling myself up as I moved aside the lid, entering a dark alleyway above the surface. Closing the lid, I shoved the skateboard into a trashcan as I slouched awkwardly, hobbling off to the airport.

I checked in at 12:00 o'clock, and raced off to my terminal at exactly 12:15 as people began boarding the airplane. Looking around to see if anyone had followed me nor thought I was suspicious, I saw no one. I fought hard to suppress the smile of ecstasy that was begging to form on my lips.

The Great Escape was hard, grueling, sweaty and back-breaking, taking over a month to plan, but it had all fallen into place perfectly. Maybe I was expecting something would go wrong, because a small, nagging feeling was hoping that the Host Club would be here to stop me, or I'd run back to them like some fairy tale and everything would end up all fine and dandy in the end.

Or maybe it's just because I'd miss them.

But, this was no fairy tale, and I don't have a Prince waiting for me in a castle with a rainbow looming over it, this was the real world. Passing my plane ticket to the lady, she smiled at me, despite my disheveled appearance.

"Have a nice flight, Abe Misa." I gave her a short nod as I enter the airplane, settling in for a nice, long relaxing trip.

After all, I was to start school again on Monday.

I plugged in a pair of earbuds to the seat-TV, turning it to the news channel where a picturesque, smiling woman sat.

"An update on the Vines and Roses mafia situation is not as happy as we hoped it'd be. They have now placed large bases in Japan, Canada and parts of Eastern Russia, claiming they'll move to the United States next. Does this mean that the West Coast of California might be struck? Or will Hawai'i be in the way? More news at 1:00-"

I turned the TV off as I unplugged my headphones, leaning back in the seat. I was going somewhere no one woukd hope to find me, or at least think I'd run away to there.

The airplane began to take off as I looked outside the window. Yes, I was running away, but not with my tail between my legs but my head held up high and turned towards a brighter future.

So I'm hoping the Host Club will forgive me if my words will inflict pain upon them.

* * *

 **Monday**

"Today is the day we finally have our Nao back! I am so excited to talk to my son again!" Tamaki squeals as he enters the Host Club room, lavender eyes glimmering in excitement.

"We can finally bug him again!" Hikaru rubs Kaoru's head as they chuckle evilly.

"We can eat cake together!" Honey chimes in as Mori nods.

"I have a lot to tell them about," Haruhi crosses their arms as they lean against a wall. Haruhi had lingering suspicions about the ball on Saturday night, Akemi's song seemed to be awfully sad and have a double meaning to it. The 1-D class won, so they get to join the second years on their trip to France, so they were extremely excited.

"Speaking of Nao, where is he?" Kyoya asks, not bothering to look up from his notebook as everyone pauses.

"Well, apparently he was sick on Friday after school and wasn't at the ball on Saturday-" Kaoru starts as Hikaru elbows him.

"You're forgetting that Akemi and Nao are the same person, dingus."

"Oh, I forgot about that." Kaoru scratches the top of his head.

"Hey, look Mori! It's a letter!" Honey picks up an envelop from the counter, waving it around in his chubby, child-like hands for all to see.

"Strange, I don't remember someone having placed that on the counter," Kyoya remarks as Honey passes him the envelop. Kyoya opens it, unfolding the hand written note. Before he skims over it, he looks up. "Shall I read it for you all?"

"Yes! I absolutely _adore_ fan mail, which is probably what it is!" Tamaki cheers as Haruhi rolls her eyes.

Kyoya clears his throat, "'Dear Host Club, I hope this letter finds you in good health. Please tell the Host Club guests that I enjoyed the time spent with them very much, and the class of 1-D that I hope the ball lightened spirits and made everyone happy.'"

"It's probably my Nao!" Tamaki squeals cheerfully.

"It sounds like she's going away-" Haruhi mutters, as everyone, save for Kyoya and Mori, turns around and shushes her.

"'Everyone seemed so happy, and my secret could've damaged this happiness. I'm sorry that I could not tell you it, but this secret would've endangered you all, and I care too greatly for everyone for this to occur." Kyoya pushed up his glasses, and continued to read aloud.

"'I loved this place, as I had loved my home, once, but it is now to burdened with secrets and memories that I can no longer stay. If I stayed for too much longer, then someone would end up getting hurt other than I, and I could not bear their damage without a guilty conscience.'"

The dark weight of the words had finally sunk into everyone's conscience. "Someone, call Nao right now!" Tamaki orders, as Mori takes out his phone and begins ringing for her.

"'You all did your best to try to help me, but some things are far too broken to be fixed. Like the vase that had been shattered, after a long time my cracks had finally begun to tear me apart from the inside.'"

"She's not picking up," Mori responds, as Haruhi begins to call her, urging her to pick up.

"I am not doing this out of spite for my secret, nor out of hatred. My life was filled with hardships, but I am not alone in these hardships, as someone will always have it worse than me. But I feel as if concrete has hardened on my feet, as I drag myself through each day. And that's why I hope my secrets sink with me.'"

"She's still not picking up," Haruhi felt tears prick through her vision as her foot bounces anxiously, waiting for Kyoya to continue his reading. The twins had now begun calling, hoping she'd pick up.

"'I've weeped over what I could possibly do to fix this, but after much deliberation I've realized this was the only way to fix things. Please forgive me if my actions have ever hurt you, and forget about me. You can walk away from this letter and assume I've went back home to my family.'"

Kyoya paused as he looked at everyone. They _wanted_ her to be back home with her family, but they also wanted the truth. In a wordless agreement, Kyoya had decided to keep reading.

"'If you are still reading, then you know that is not the truth. It's okay to not be okay, but after a while of not being okay, you have to find others to help you be okay again. While you all had made me okay, my past still crept up behind me.'"

 _"Hi! This is Nao Araki', and I can't come to the phone right now-"_ the muffled voice played from Kaoru's hand as he promptly pressed -end.-

"'With my past dragging me down and my concrete feet sinking me, there was no reason to go on with living, and my secrets will now be dragged down with me to the Pacific Ocean.'"

Kyoya looked up, pushing his glasses up to see that everyone was shiny-eyed as he felt a tear drop cascade down his cheek. He looked back at the letter as the tear plonked down by the signature of the name.

"'Once more, I love you all and hope you have the best of lives, as I know you deserve it. Nao Araki and Akemi Watanabe, together at last.'"

"I-it makes it sound like they ran away together," Kaoru sniffles, trying to bring light heartedness to the seemingly dark room.

"Kyoya, cancel all appointments for the rest of the week, and tell the police to begin searching for her" Tamaki mutters, as everyone slowly sat in silence, absorbing what had just happened. Everyone's inner turmoil was different as their relations between Nao differed, but one emotion was prevalent between all of them, unifying them against the truth of the matter:

Despair: for no one knew her inner secret. All felt as if they weren't enough for Nao, as she chased herself off the bridge and drowned her secrets. No one felt as if they knew her well enough for her to choose them as her confidant. No one believed she'd do this, so why? What were her dark secrets?

* * *

"Welcome, Abe Misa! Welcome to Ashford Academy!"

Nodding towards the girl as she gave me a tour of the campus, I glanced around the beautiful campus. Due to my hacking skills a mere transference wasn't hard to do, all I had to do was input my grades into the scholarship forum under a new name.

Looking at the pale yellow blazer of the girl uniform, I smile a bit to myself. I was _finally_ able to wear a banana yellow uniform, isn't that wonderful?

I had taken my short hair and pressed it down to pixie form and dyed it black, then placed brown contacts over my green eyes. I no longer used as much makeup as I used to, save for some mascara here and there, though it filled me with melancholy whenever I look at my full-contour kit.

"Oh! That's Lelouch over there!" The girl whispers to me, blushing heavily as she nods at a raven haired boy reading a book on the bench. "Isn't he a total bishie?"

I was getting weird vibes from him as I looked over, he almost reminded me of Kyoya with the way he held himself. Almost as if he felt my gaze on him, he looked up, offering me a head nod, which I returned.

"Look away!" The girl next to me squeals as I roll my eyes, walking over to him. Maybe it's because I had spent so much damn time around the Host Club, but I wasn't too bad at making friends.

"What book are you reading?" I ask in interest as he holds up the cover for me to read, as he continues to read.

"Oh, _Lilies of War_ _._ Is this your first time reading it?" I ask as he shakes his head no as I sit down on the bench next to him.

"I don't mean to be a bother, as I can see you're reading, but I have to absolutely say that Professor Ju was not a good man, though the book paints him as a protagonist." The boy puts his book down, closing it but retaining the page number with his index fingers. I could see his steely eyes penetrate into my own as he searched for answers.

"How so?"

"Well-"

 **END OF VINES AND ROSES**

 _ **Thank you all for reading, it's been a long journey. As this was my first fanfiction (that I've kept up, at least) I felt that I had to offer some sort of closure instead of leaving it on a cliff hanger forever.**_

 _ **At the end of the story it does cross over into another anime, but you may be disappointed to hear that I may not continue with her adventures now, nor ever. Her character was similar to a Mary Sue, and with my limited amount of writing I failed to acknowledge that fact. I had her cross over into another story line so if I wanted to fix her character I could so she could have chances at a happily-ever-after.**_

 _ **As for the Host Club, I wanted to give them a not so happily-ever-after ending. While they're all great characters, I felt as if Nao was torturing them to such a point then she needed to end it instead of dragging out their suffering by staying. With her fake suicide, she no longer had them under her thumb and making them worry. Though they grieve at first, life goes on.**_


End file.
